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HISTORY 



LANCASTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



* WRITTEN AND EDITED BY 

REV. A. N. SOMERS. 

Published and Issued by Order op the Town 

JAMES W. WEEKS, 
HENRY O. KENT, 
CHESTER B. JORDAN, 

Its Co7)i7nittee. 

i898. 



CONCORD, N. H.: 

THE KUMFOKD FKE55. 

1899. 



PREFATORY NOTE BY THE COMMITTEE 



At the annnal March meeting, 1892, the town took its first steps 
towards a history. It was then contemplated that the history should 
embrace a narrative, an account of the trades and business, churches, 
schools, and the like, and also personal biography of the early settlers 
and their families. As the work grew it was found that all this could not 
be included within one volume, and it was therefore deemed best to 
exclude all personal biography and the genealogy of families, save as the 
same might appear in narrative and other form. The town has a large 
amount of biographical material to be used at some future day, when 
another volume of history may be published. It was gathered by the 
committee for this volume, but left out for the reason that it would make 
the book too large. The committee regret the necessity of such action, 
but congratulates the town that it now has in safe keeping much valuable 
matter concerning its pioneers, who acted so well their parts in founding 
a town and a civilization that we trust will bring no discredit upon them 
or their works. 

James W. Weeks, 
Henry O. Kent, 
Chester B. Jordan, 
Committee 
Lancaster, July i, 1898. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

Chapter I. Discovery and Exploration of the Upper Coos 
II. Location and Charter of the Town 

III. The Town as a Civil Organization 

IV. The Settlement of the Town .... 
V. The Survey, Relocation, and Allotment of the Lands 

VI. The Organization of the Town .... 

VII. The Building of Roads and Bridges 

VIII. The Revolutionary Period ..... 

IX. The Town from 1776 to 1800 . . . . 

X. The Town from 1800 to 1850 .... 

XI. The Town from 1850 to 1897 .... 

XII. Education in Lancaster ..... 

XIII. The Establishment and Development of Religion in Lancaster 

XIV. Lancaster in Relation to the Vermont Controversy 
XV. Some Early Marriages and Deaths in Lancaster 

XVI. Some Early Private Accounts with the Town 
XVII. Religious Holidays, Musters, Raisings 
XVIII. Some Temperance Movements in Lancaster 
XIX. The Political History of the Town 
XX. Some Authors of the Town and their Writings 
XXI. The Early Post-riders and the Mails . 
XXII. Some Epidemics that have Prevailed in Lancaster 
XXIII. The Railroads 

PART II. 

Chapter I. The Natural History of the Town 

II. Localities, Streets, Parks, and Cemeteries 

III. Material Growth of the Town 

IV. Domestic Life in Early Times 
V. Games, Sports, and Amusements of Early Times 

VI. Mercantile Enterprises and Merchants 
VII. Manufacturing Enterprises of the Town 
VIII. Banks and Other Corporations 
IX. The History of Education . 
X. The Churches . 
XI. The Newspapers of the Town 
XII. The Learned Professions 

XIII. Fraternal Societies 

XIV. Public Buildings 
XV. The Fire Department 

XVI. The Civil List of the Town 

XVII. The Soldiers of Lancaster . 

XVIII. The Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of the Town of 

Lancaster, 1764-July 14, 1864 ..... 



563 



X 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Weeks, Major John W. 

Weeks, William D. 

Wells, John Sullivan 

Whidden, Beni- Franklin 

White, John H. • • 

White Mountains from District No. lo 

Williams, Jared Warner, Governor . 



face page 94 
137 
464 
472 
464 
316 
464 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF THE UPPER COOS. 

The Indian name of Cohoss, or Cowas, was known to the settlers 
of the towns in the southern part of New Hampshire and Massachu- 
setts since the beginning of the troubles with the Indians and French. 
In a vague manner it signified a large and valuable tract of land 
along the Connecticut river. As early as 1704 we find this name 
appearing in the Provincial Records, Vol. VI, pp. 278, 874. Hun- 
ters had followed their craft within this territory for many years, 
and had brought to the settlements glowing accounts of its fertile 
meadows and. richness of timbers, as well as its abundance of game. 
In the spring of 1752, John Stark, afterward known as General 
Stark, his brother William, Amos Eastman, and David Stinson were 
set upon by a party of St. Francis Indians while hunting on Baker's 
river, in the present town of Rumney. John Stark and Amos East- 
man were captured, while David Stinson was killed, and William 
Stark made his escape. These two prisoners were taken to the set- 
tlement of the St. Francis tribe in Canada, passing through the 
Cohoss country, halting to hunt at points along the route. They 
camped the first night at the mouth of John's, river. These two 
young men had thus a good opportunity to view the famed " Co- 
hoss Meadows " so much talked of in the lower settlements of New 
Hampshire. 

On the return of Stark and Eastman, who were ransomed in the 
summer of 1752, they gave a glowing account of the Cohoss country, 
which excited renewed interest in the previous desire and immature 
plan for its settlement. During that year Governor Wentworth 
made several grants of townships on both sides of the Connecticut 
river, by which he hoped to secure the settlement of this coveted 
country. Accordingly a party set out to lay out a township on 
either side of the river where Newbury, Vt., and Haverhill, N. H., 
now are. A prompt remonstrance on the part of the St. Francis 
Indians led to the abandonment of the plan for a period of ten years. 



2 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

In the spring of 1754, the governor sent Colonel Lovewell, Major 
Talford, and Captain Page out in command of a company, with John 
Stark as their guide, to explore the Cohoss country. They left Rum- 
ford (now Concord) on March 10, 1754, and in seven days reached 
the Connecticut river at Piermont, where they tarried but one night 
and then beat a hasty retreat, reaching Rumford after an absence 
of thirteen days. In the absence of any recorded reasons for such a 
failure to carry out an order of the government we are left to infer 
that these explorers were afraid of meeting the Indians who claimed 
the territory they had entered upon. 

The same season another exploring party was sent out on the 
same mission. This party consisted of Captain Peter Powers, of 
Hollis, N. H., Lieut. James Stevens, and Ensign Ephraim Hale, of 
Townsend, Mass., with a company of soldiers. They left Rumford 
on Saturday, June 15, 1754, and proceeded with much difficulty 
from bad weather and swollen streams, up what Captain Powers 
called the " Great Valley," or Cohoss. From the journal of Captain 
Powers it is quite certain that his company reached Isreals river, 
within the present locality of the village of Lancaster, and remained 
but a single day, long enough to mend their shoes, and then returned 
on account of the exhaustion of their provisions. Captain Powers 
and two of his men marched up the Connecticut river five miles, 
where they discovered evidences that the Indians had been encamped 
within a day or two, making canoes. Captain Powers's party were 
prudent, at least in avoiding any chance of meeting the Indians. 
They were not sent out to conquer the inhabitants of Cohoss, nor to 
take any formal possession of the country, but to examine it and 
report to the government. Powers's description of the country 
through which he passed is accurate, terse, and clear. He named 
Isreals river Powers' river, in which he no doubt acted in good faith. 
It is not at all probable that he had any knowledge of its previous 
name in honor of. Isreal Glines, who had his hunter's camp on it 
many years before, while John Glines, a brother of Isreal, had a 
camp on John's river. Powers gave as a reason for the river being 
called John's river the fact that John Stark had lodged on its banks 
while a captive of the Indians in 1752. He seems, from these con- 
siderations, to have known nothing of the Glineses. 

The Glines brothers, as also one Martin, who hunted on the 
meadows and pond that bear his name, came here for no other pur- 
pose than to hunt and trap. Whatever information they conveyed to 
the lower settlements on leaving the Cohoss country about 1752, is 
merely a matter of conjecture. As hunters they were not interested 
in having the country settled. Powers's expedition, on the contrary, 
was sent out to gain accurate information of the country and report 
the same to guide the government in its designs to have the country 



DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF UPPER COOS. 3 

settled before the French should seize it and erect forts and hold it 
for France, Little or nothing resulted from the Powers exploring 
expedition, unless it had the effect to allay the fear of the French 
occupation of the Cohoss country. No effort was made by the 
authorities of the Province to form settlements above " No. 4" (now 
Charlestown), after the Assembly refused to concur with Governor 
Wentworth in granting townships in 1752, until 1761, although 
many petitions were made for authority to do so. The dangers 
and expense accompanying the formation of new settlements many 
miles away from the older fortified settlements, was the chief and 
only reason holding in check many families anxious to acquire lands 
in the rich "Cohoss Meadows." The projects of the governor and 
one Captain Symes, and Theodore Atkinson, who pressed the ques- 
tion upon the attention of the Assembly at home, and the agent of 
New Hampshire, and the king abroad, involved a military occupation 
of the country. They saw and urged the necessity of a strict mili- 
tary government of their proposed settlements involving the erec- 
tion of strong garrisons in the centre of the settlements. Such, 
indeed, would have been the situation had the Assembly concurred 
in the governor's plans, for not only was there a strong determina- 
tion on the part of the Indians to prevent further encroachments 
upon their hunting grounds, but the French were ready, and only 
too willing, to offer the Indians all possible encouragement to resist 
the extension of English settlements northward. The French hacj 
by that time made Crown Point as much of a stronghold on Lake 
Champlain as Quebec was on the St. Lawrence river, and were jeal- 
ous of any encroachments upon the territory above " No. 4." 
These projects only related to the " Lower Coos," as it came to be 
known later ; but if such were the dangers confronting settlers at 
that point how much greater would they not have been in the 
" Upper Coos" ? 

So great was the hostility and daring of the St. Francis Indians 
that they attacked "No. 4," as late as the 30th of August, 1754, 
which at the time was defended by a garrison under the noted 
Captain Phineas Stevens, and carried away into captivity eight per- 
sons. So great seemed the dangers from these Indian attacks that 
towns as far south as Fort Dummer (Hinsdale), Westmoreland, 
Keene, and Swanzey sent up petitions to the General Court, and 
even went so far as to petition the General Court of Massachusetts 
Bay Colony for protection against the Indians. 

The controversy between Massachusetts and New Hampshire over 
the boundary question had been settled by King George II in favor 
of New Hampshire in 1740, which naturally lessened the interest of 
Massachusetts in the territory in dispute between the New Hamp- 
shire settlers and the Indians. New Hampshire was not strong 



4 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

enough at that time to invite the combined assaults of the French 
and Indians, hence many plans for the settlement of new territory in 
the north had to be abandoned until a more promising time. 

That time came only with the close of the last French and Indian 
War, lasting from 1755 until 1760, when Quebec and Crown Point 
had been wrested from the French, and the St. Francis tribe of 
Indians had been almost annihilated by the famed Robert Rogers 
and his Rangers, who, returning from that memorable victory, 
passed down the Connecticut river through the " Upper Coos." 
This ever-memorable expedition of Rogers's Rangers did more to 
open the way for the exploration and settlement of the " Cohoss " 
country than all movements combined, for it crushed the hostile 
spirit of the Indians, and admonished the French that the English 
purpose to have and hold the Connecticut valley was indisputable. 
Rogers had been in the "Upper Coos" early in the season of 1755, 
and erected a fort near the mouth of the Upper Amonoosuck, which 
he named Fort Wentworth. The site of this old fort is a matter of 
some interest in the early traditions of the " Upper Coos." In his 
report of the expedition he says of " Coos" (he spells it Cohas), " it 
is a tract of twenty miles in length and six in breadth, which, for its 
beauty and fertility, may be deservedly styled the ' Garden of New 
England.' " 

On their way from St. Francis, Rogers's Rangers passed through 
the " Upper Coos." Pressed by hunger and fatigue, some of them 
sought to get out of the wilderness by passing through the White 
Mountain notch. Several of them passed up Isreals river toward 
the " notch " with an Indian guide, who seems to have misled them. 

Only one of their number, one Bradley, succeeded in making 
the trip, to tell the sad story of their sufferings. Others of the 
Rangers passed down the Connecticut river. Too weak to bear the 
burdens of their guns and knapsacks, they hid them among the 
rocks and passed on, empty-handed, to the settlements on the river 
below. Many of these relics have since been found in the town of 
Lunenburg, Vt. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LOCATION AND CHARTER OF THE TOWN. 

David Page of Petersham, Mass., having become dissatisfied with 
an allotment of land to him in Haverhill, N. H., of which he was 
one of the grantees, in 1762, immediately set about making arrange- 
ments to found a settlement, in which his fancied rights should be 
duly respected in the land allotments. In company with sixty-nine 




Ox Israels River, Lancaster. 




Starr King Mountain. 

Presidential Range from LeGro Hill. 



THE LOCATION AND CHARTER OF THE TOWN. 5 

other persons, he procured a charter for a town in the Upper Coos 
country, then known to be very rich meadow-land on the Connecti- 
cut river. 

Page had in his employment at the time a young man by the 
name of Emmons Stockwell, who is supposed to have been in this 
region before, as one of Rogers's Rangers. Whether he was one of 
the party that destroyed the village of St. Francis in 1759, is not 
certainly known. There is a chance that he might have accom- 
panied Major Rogers in 1755, when he built Fort Wentworth in 
Northumberland, near the mouth of the Upper Ammonoosuc river. 
On that occasion detachments from various companies were assigned 
to Major Rogers for that purpose, and we predict that the name of 
Emmons Stockwell will be found in some Massachusetts company, 
as he was a resident of that state. Then, too, young Stockwell, and 
even Edwards Bucknam, another young man of Petersham, in the 
employment of David Page, may have hunted in the " Upper Coos 
Meadows." At all events it was from the knowledge these young 
men had of the country that led Page to secure a charter for it, and 
enter into the scheme for its settlement. Knowing how desirous 
Governor Wentworth was to grant charters, and lay the whole 
country under the rule of the king, Page and his followers were 
encouraged to ask for a charter of the rich meadows, which was 
no sooner asked for than granted. In fact, many of the governor's 
warmest friends were among the grantees. 

Without any previous survey of the lands, the governor, probably 
with the assistance, and at least by the suggestion, of his petitioners, 
blocked out a township of certain arbitrary dimensions, to contain a 
definite number of acres, and granted it under the name of Lan- 
caster. This grant was supposed to cover all the broad meadows, 
now in Lancaster, and known as the " Upper Coos Meadows," and 
the water power of Isreals river. How arbitrary the grants of 
towns were can readily be seen by a glance at the plots that were 
always made out on the backs of the charters, and are now repro- 
duced in the "State Papers, Vols. 24 and 25, Tow^n Charters." 

The north line of Lancaster was to be the same as the south line 
of Stonington, granted to John Hogg and others, Oct. 20, 1761, In 
consequence of the general ignorance of the governor's petitioners 
in respect to an unsurveyed country, it happened that the south line 
of Stonington was some eight or nine miles lower down the river 
than they supposed, and included all the coveted meadows of the 
Upper Coos. That threw Lancaster still further south ten miles, 
upon territory, now included in the towns of Dalton, Whitefield, and 
Littleton. As granted, and by the description in the charter, Lan- 
caster was to corner on the Connecticut river a short distance below 
the mouth of Beaver brook. 



6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

But for the failure of the grantees of the town of Stonington to 
take possession of their territory and settle upon it, David Page and 
his followers would have found themselves forced to move off the 
rich meadows of the present Lancaster, and either content them- 
selves with the less desirable territory within their grant, or to have 
sought still another location. The desire of David Page to get as 
good land as there was within his supposed grant, led him to take 
possession of the broad meadows, then near the centre of Stoning- 
ton, under the supposition that he was within his lawful limits. 

The charter for Lancaster was granted July 5, 1763, and David 
Page sent his son, David Page, Jr., and Emmons Stockwell to take 
possession of the territory that same year. Tradition says they 
came some time in the fall, built a log cabin on the meadows, cut 
grass, and stacked it to feed their cattle that were to be driven up early 
the following spring. One tradition says that after accomplishing 
this task they returned to Massachusetts, and came back with David 
Page and several other young men the following April to find that 
the spring freshets had carried their hay off and flooded their cabin. 
Another tradition says that these two young men remained here all 
winter and subsisted by hunting and fishing. This latter tradition 
is the more plausible one, and is probably true. 

It would seem much more likely that the mistake of locating the 
Lancaster settlement on the territory granted to the Stonington 
people was made by these young men coming in advance of the 
elder Page. They knew something of the country, at least Stock- 
well did, and as it was supposed that under the charter they were 
going to take possession of the Coos Meadows, they pitched upon 
the most valuable lands. That was undoubtedly their instruction 
from David Page. Then, too, we must consider the fact that these 
young men would not have the charter to guide them in fixing the 
bounds of the town. It may be doubted whether David Page, Sr., 
himself would have done better even with his charter to aid him in 
fixing upon the bounds of the town. 

There is no reason to suppose that the grantees of Lancaster 
intended to dispossess the grantees of Stonington of their valuable 
territory. The fact that the former found themselves upon the lands 
of the latter, after a renewed effort had been made by John Hogg 
and his followers to regain the land they lost by a failure to comply 
with the terms of their charter, does not convict them of stealing 
the lands of their more fortunate neighbors, who had received a 
prior grant of them. That the readers may better judge how easy 
it was to make mistakes in finding the rightful limits of the towns 
arbitrarily laid out without a previous survey of them, I will give 
here the descriptions of the bounds of Stonington that they may be 
compared with those of Lancaster in the charter which follows : 



THE LOCATION AND CHARTER OF THE TOWN. 7 

Bounds of Stonington. "Beginning at A Maple Tree wliich Stands on the 
Easterly Side of Connecticut River and is about Thirty Miles on A Straight Line 
from Ammoiuisek Rivers Mouth and from thence Northerly up Connecticut River 
as that runs about nine miles on a Strait Line to an Elm marked Standing on the 
Southerly Side of the mouth of a Small Brook running into Connecticut River & 
carrying that Breadth Back between two East lines so far as that A Paralell Line 
to the Strait Line from the Maple afore Said to the Elm afore Said will make the 
Contents of Six Miles Square and that the same be, and hereby is incorporated 
into a Township by the name of Stonington." [State Papers, Vol. 25, p. 394-] 

Taking Cargill brook in Northumberland as the small brook 
referred to here, we would have a distance of nine miles to the point 
I have designated as the intended northwestern corner of Lancaster. 

LANCASTER CHARTER. 

" Province of New-Hampshire. 
Lancaster GEORGE, the third 

< P. S. S By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, 

^ >.^v^ ' Defender of the Faith &c. 
To all Persons to whom these Presents shall come. Greeting, 

Know ye, tiiat We of our special Grace, certain knowledge, and meer Motion, for 
the due Encouragement of settling a New Plantation within our said Province, 
by and with the Advice of our Trusty and Well-beloved Benning Wentworth, 
Esqr; Our Governor and Commander in Chief of Our said Province of New 
Hampshire in New England, and of our Council of the said Province ; Have, 
upon the Conditions and Reservations herein after made, given and granted, and 
by these Presents, for us. our Heirs, and Successors, do give and grant in equal 
Shares, unto Our loving Subjects, Inhabitants of Our said Province of New- 
Hampshire, and Our other Governments, and to their Heirs and Assigns for ever, 
whose Names are entered on this Grant, to be divided to and amongst them into 
Seventy Six equal Shares, all that Tract or Parcel of Land situate, lying and 
being within our said Province oi New-Hampshire, containing by admeasurement 
Twenty three Thousand & Forty Acres, which Tract is to contain six Miles 
square, and no more ; out of which an Allowance is to be made for High Ways 
and unimprovable Lands by Rocks, Ponds, Mountains and Rivers, One Thousand 
and Forty acres free, according to a Plan and Survey thereof, made by our said 
Governors's Order, and returned into the Secretary's Office, and hereunto an- 
nexed, butted and bounded as follows, Viz. Beginning at a Stake & Stones 
standing on bank of the Easterly side of Connecticut River, which is the South 
Westerly Corner bounds of Stonington, thence running South fifty five Deg' East 
seven Miles by Stonington To the South Easterly corner thereof, then turning off 
& Runing South Sixty nine Deg^ West Ten Miles, then turning off again & 
Runing North twenty six Degrees West to Connecticut River thence up the River 
as that tends to the Stake & stones first above Mentioned the Bounds begun at 
And that the same be, and hereby is incorporated into a Township by the Name 
of Lancaster And the Inhabitants that do or shall hereafter inhabit the said Town- 
ship, are hereby declared to be Enfranchized with and entitled to all and every 
the Privileges and Immunities that Towns within Our Province by Law Exercise 
and Enjoy : And other further, that the said Town as soon as there shall be Fifty 
Families resident and settled thereon, shall have the Liberty of holding Two 

Fairs, one of which shall be held on And the other on the 

annually, which Fairs are not to confine longer than the 

respective following the said ^ and that as 



8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

soon as said Town shall consist of Fifty Families, a Market may be opened and 
kept one or more Days in each Week, as may be thought most advai,tagious to 
the Inhabitants. Also, that the first meeting for the Choice of Town Officers, 
agreable to the Laws of our said Province, shall be held on the first Tuesday in 
August next which said Meeting shall be Notified by Uavid Page who is hereby 
also appointed the Moderator of the said first Meeting, which he is to Notify and 
Govern agreable to the Laws and Customs of Our said Province ; and that the 
annual Meeting for ever hereafter for the Choice of such Officers for the said 
Town, shall be on the Second Tuesday of March annually, To Have and to 
Hold the said Tract of Land as above expressed, together with all Privileges and 
Appurtenances, to them and their respective Heirs and Assigns forever, upon the 
following conditions, viz. 

I. That every Grantee, his Heirs or Assigns shall plant and cultivate five Acres 
of Land within the Term of five Years for every fifty Acres contained in his or 
their Share or Proportion of Land in said Township, and continue to improve and 
settle the same by additional Cultivation, on Penalty of the Forfeiture ol his Grant 
or Share in the said Township, and of its reverting to Us, our Heirs and Suc- 
cessors, to be by Us or Them Re-granted to such of Our Subjects as shall eflec- 
tually settle and cultivate the same. 

II. That all white and other Pine Trees within the said Township, fit for Mast- 
ing Our Royal Navy, be carefully preserved for that Use, and none to be cut or 
felled without Our special License for so doing first had and obtained, upon the 
Penalty of the Forfeiture of the Right of such Grantee, his Heirs and Assigns, to 
Us, our Heirs and Successors, as well as being subject to the Penalty of any Act 
or Acts of Parliament that now are, or hereafter shall be Enacted. 

III. That before any Division of the Lands be made to and among the 
Grantees, a Tract of Land as near the Centre of said Township as the Land will 
admit of, shall be reserved and marked out for Town Lots, one of each shall be 
allotted to each Grantee of the Contents of one Acre. 

IV. Yielding and paying therefor to Us, our Heirs and Successors for the 
Space of ten Years, to be computed from the Date hereof, the Rent of one Ear of 
Indian Corn only, on the twenty-fifth Day of December annually, if lawfully 
demanded, the first Payment to be made on the twenty-fifth Day of December, 
1763. 

V. Every Proprietor, Settler or Inhabitant, shall yield and pay unto Us, our 
Heir and Successors yearly, and every year forever, from and after the Expiration 
of ten years from the abovesaid twenty-fifth Day of December, namely, on the 
twenty-fifth day of December, which will be in the Year of Our Lord 1773 One 
Shilling Proclamation Money for every Hundred Acres he so owns, settles or pos- 
sesses, and so in Proportion for a greater or lesser Tract of the said Land ; which 
Money shall be paid by the respective Persons abovesaid, their Heirs or Assigns, 
in our Council Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such Officer or Officers as sliall be 
appointed to receive the same ; and tliis is to be in Lieu of all other Rents and 
Services whatsoever. 

In Testimony whereof we have caused the Seal of our said Province to be here- 
unto affixed. Witness Benning Wentworth, Esq; Our Governor and Com- 
mander in Chief of Our Province, the Fifth Day of July in the Year of our Lord 
Christ, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty three and in the Third Year of 
Our Reign. 

B. Wentworth — 

By His Excellency's Command, 

With Advice of Council, T. Atkinson Jun*- SeC? 

Province of New Hamp' July 6 1763 

Recorded according to the original under the Provincial Seal 

m T. Atkinson Jun"- Sec'? 




Plan of Town on Back of Charter, with Na.mes of Grantees. 



THE LOCATION AND CHARTER OF THE TOWN. 



The Names of the Grantees Lancaster, — 



David Page 
David Page Jun' 
Abraham Byaur 
Reuben Stone 
John Grout 
John Grout Jun' 
Jonathan Grout 
Solomon Willson 
Joseph Stoweli 
Joseph Page 
William Dagget 
Isaac Ball 
Solomon Fay 
Jotham Death 
John Sanders 
Elisha Crossby 
Luke Lincoln 
David Lawson 
Silas Rice 
Thos Carter 
Ephraim Sterns 
James Read 
Timothy Whitney 
Thomas Rice 
John Sawyer 
John Wait 
Samuel Marble 
Joseph Marble 
Jonathan Houghton 
John Rogers 
Abner Holden 
Stanton Printice 
Benj" Willson 
Stephen Emes 
John Phelps 



William Page 

Nathaniel Page 

John Warden 

Silas Bennit 

Thomas Shattock 

Ephraim Shattock 

Silas Shattock 

Isreal Hale 

Isreal Hale Jun"" 

Daniel Hale 

William Read 

Benj" Baxter 

Math'' Thornton Esq 

And'' Wiggins Esq"" 

Mesech Weare Esq' 

Maj"" John Tolford 

Benj» Man 

Daniel Miles 

Thomas Rogers 

John Duncan 

Nathaniel Smith 

Charles How 

Daniel Searles 

Isaac Wood 

Nathaniel Richardson 

Ebenezer Blunt 

John Herriman 

Ephraim Noyce 

Benjamin Sawyer 

Hon : Jos*' Newmarch 
Nath* Barrel 
Daniel Warner 
James Nevin J 

Rev"! Mr. Joshua Wing'* Weeks 

& Benj" Stevens 



Esq"^ 



His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' a Tract of Land to Contain Five 
Hundred Acres as Marked B — W— in the Plan which is to be Accounted two of 
the within shares. One whole share for the Incorporated Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, One Share for a Glebe for the Church of 
England as by Law Established, One Share for the first settled Minister of the 
Gospel & one Share for the benefit of a school in said Town 

Province of New Hamp' July 6*'^ 1763 

Recorded from the Back of the original Charter of Lancester under the 
Provincial Seal 

f) T. Atkinson Jun"" Sec'^^ 



lO 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 




:? 

Pro' of New Hampr July 6 1763 

Recorded from the Back of the original Charter of Lancaster under the Pro 
Seal 

T. Atkinson Jun"" Sec^y 

[Additions to the town were made at subsequent times. Barker's Location was added 
to it June 22, 1819. A portion of Stark was annexed December 4, 1840, and a portion 
of Kilkenny December 15, 1842. State Papers, 21;, (Vol. IL) 187.] 

It was a piece of unheard-of boldness on the part of Gov^ernor 
Wentworth, and his council, to parcel out a large, unsurveyed terri- 
tory among so many townships, by simply starting at a certain kind 
of tree — maple or elm — or a stake and a pile of stones, or a bend in 
the river. 

The country, with its maple and elm trees, bends in the river, and 
stakes and stone-piles, was as unfamiliar to "Governor Page" and 
his followers as it was to Governor Wentworth and council who un- 
dertook the foolish task of parcelling it out on almost imaginary 
lines.* The arbitrariness of the procedure was at the root of many, 

*In 1760, Governor Wentworth commissioned Joseph Blanchard, of Dunstable, 
N. H., to make a survey of the Connecticut River, in which he was to mark trees, or 
plant stakes on both sides of the stream every six miles to serve as corners of town- 



LANCASTER. 1 1 

if not all, the conflicts between the towns with respect to their 
boundaries. Aside from the matter of the boundary of the town- 
ship the terms of the charter were very liberal and reasonable. The 
proprietors were not hampered in any respect save the restriction in 
regard to making use of, or destroying, such timbers as were suitable 
for masts in his royal highness's navy. Even that restriction was not 
a grievious one, for there was more good timber beside such as the 
king reserved than they knew what to do with. If traditions and 
estimates are to be relied upon at all, the first settlers rolled millions 
of feet of good pine timber into the rivers to get rid of it with the 
least trouble possible. The lands were all heavily timbered, and 
until within the memory of men still living the choicest of pine was 
to be found in Lancaster. His majesty never got any ship masts 
or other ship timbers from Lancaster, for within a dozen years of 
the settlement of the town his subjects rebelled against his rule and 
annulled his rights and took things into their own hands ; and none 
of his subjects exceeded his Lancaster settlement in doing things 
their own way. In fact from the very inception of the town, though 
preserving the form of obedience to the royal government, they 
were among the most democratic people on this continent. Many 
of them hailed from Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, towns 
where the spirit of true democracy was seen, and manifested, at its 
best. They were a sturdy, thrifty, and law-abiding people who settled 
this town. While they loved liberty above everything else they yet 
had a due regard for law and good order. They were neither ad- 
venturers nor speculators who came here and erected log cabins and 
lived contentedly in them. They were home-seekers and home- 
builders, and in building homes they helped to lay the foundation of 
that greater structure of which we are so proud — the nation. 



CHAPTER III. 

LANCASTER. 



The town of Lancaster is situated in Coos county, in the northern 
part of New Hampshire. It lies along the Connecticut river a dis- 
tance of more than ten miles, running back on its northeasterly line 

ships to be surveyed from them. This task was performed on the ice in the month o£ 
March, from No. 4, (now Charlestown) to the north-east corner of Newbury, Vt. 
During the next year, and in the same manner, Hughbastis Neel began where Blanchard 
left off and continued the survey as far as the north end of the " Upper Coos," which 
probably was at a point near where Maidstone, in Vermont, and Northumberland in 
New Hampshire, meet. It was the custom of Governor Wentworth to take these 
marked trees or stakes as starting-point and block out his projected townships, two 
tiers deep on both sides of the river. Such a method was as full of difficulties as the 
river was full of bends, and made the settlers no small amount of trouble in the division 
of their town lands. 



12 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

seven miles, and on its southeasterly line ten miles, and its southerly 
line is two and a half miles. As originally designed it was to con- 
tain six square miles. It is bounded on the north by Northumber- 
land, and Kilkenny, east by Kilkenny, south by the towns of Jeffer- 
son, Whitefield, and Dalton, and on the west by the Connecticut 
river, the west bank of the river being the boundary. 

The town consists in the main part of fine meadows lying on the 
Connecticut river and Isreals river, and what the early settlers 
called " upland." Beginning with the first river terrace the " up- 
lands " slope gradually up to the foot of the hills, which rise rap- 
idly into quite high hills, or mounts, the highest of which is 
Mount Prospect on the southerly line of the town. This mount 
reaches an altitude of 2,090 feet and affords a very fine view of the 
surrounding country for many miles. It is easy of ascent, as a good 
road was some years ago built up its northerly slope to a hotel 
erected on its summit. Mount Pleasant just south of the village 
and Mount Orne — the three being known as the " Martin Meadow 
Hills" — are the highest hills in the town ; but these are not very 
high, nor are they so steep but good farms have been cleared almost 
to their summits. 

The Connecticut river has a fall of less than two feet in more than 
ten miles of a course along the western bounds of the town. The 
main elevation of the town is about 900 feet above sea-level. South 
Lancaster has an elevation of 867 feet and Lancaster village (Main 
street) 870 feet. Isreals river has quite a rapid descent for about 
two miles before entering the Connecticut river, affording three good 
water-powers within the limits of the village. The Isreals river 
valley (East Lancaster) comprises a river-basin on the level of the 
second terrace of the Connecticut of about thirty-six feet. 

In the south part of the town is Martin Meadow pond, covering 
an area of about one hundred and fifty acres. Near by it, to the 
eastward, is another pond known as Blood pond. Beside Baker 
pond and Spot pond, two small ponds within the village limits, 
these are the only ponds in the town. There are no swamps of any 
considerable extent in the town. What few there are are so situated 
as to be easily drained, and converted into fertile meadows. 

From a scenic point of view Lancaster is one of the most beauti- 
ful sections of New Hampshire. It is completely encircled by 
mountains, and its surface sufficiently varied to present to the eye 
one of the most pleasing landscapes. The outlines of the landscape 
are bold, yet even in their curves. The shadings of mountains, 
hills, and forests are varied in degree. From any eminence one 
looks down upon fine farms, neat buildings, with the village nesthng 
at the foot of Bunker Hill and Mount Pleasant. 

The earliest settlers were not slow to recognize the beauty of the 



LANCASTER. I 3 

scenery, and generally their houses were located so that the outlook 
was the best afforded upon their lands. Many of them sought to 
enhance the beauty of the scenery by planting trees about their 
premises, and along the village streets and highways. Many of the 
giant elms that line our streets and along the highways were planted 
a century and over ago. 

The geological formation of the town (described in Part II) gives 
it a pleasing surface. In contrast with its rocky hillsides lay the 
beautiful diluvial meadows, possessing a wonderful degree of fer- 
tility. The " uplands " are fertile also, and capable of profitable 
cultivation with the exception of certain slopes where the glaciers 
deposited vast quantities of the coarsest rubble. These hillsides, 
however rough, afford good pastures, and are generally utilized as 
such. The rocks are of such formations that their gradual disinte- 
gration adds elements of fertility to the soil. 

The agricultural and grazing importance of the town is not 
excelled by that of any other town in the northern portion of the 
state. The entire intervale of the Connecticut river above the Fif- 
teen-mile Falls was once the bed of a lake through which the river 
ran, as it now does through the Connecticut lake. The basin-like 
arrangement of the surface, surrounded by the high rim of moun- 
tains, affords shelter from the strong and prevailing winds in 4D0th 
summer and winter. While the winter temperature goes very low, 
sometimes reaching from thirty-six to forty degrees below zero, 
there is very little wind accompanying the fall of temperature. The 
air is dry and calm during these cold turns. The summer tempera- 
ture often exceeds ninety degrees. It occasionally reaches ninety- 
six or ninety-eight. The average temperature is one very favorable 
to vegetative growth, consequently good crops are raised in fields 
and gardens, and a rank growth of wild plants and forest trees occurs 
every year. 

As in other places in this latitude, frost is sometimes seen nearly 
every month of the season ; and not infrequently the late severe 
frosts of the spring retard planting if they do not injure crops, yet 
the growth is so rapid that late planting does not necessarily indi- 
cate danger of injury from the frosts of the fall. In the early years 
of the settlement of the town, frosts sometimes destroyed whole 
crops. Now, and for many years past, the like of it is unknown, 
and well-matured crops are the rule. 

The fertility of the soil was so great at the time of the settlement 
of the town that it was thought manure was uncalled for, and it was 
thrown into the river as offering the easiest means of getting rid of 
it; but continuous cropping for many years convinced the people 
of their errors, and now not only barnyard manures, but the com- 
mercial fertilizers, are extensively used, and to the best advantage. 



14 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

This section had long been a favorite hunting-ground of the 
Indians when first discovered by the white hunters, who penetrated 
far beyond the settlements early in the eighteenth century. There 
is no evidence to show that any permanent settlements of Indians, 
or clearings by them, ever existed. The long winters and short 
summers did not invite the shiftless Indian to a point so far from 
the more congenial localities with which he was acquainted, except 
on hunting excursions. It is doubtful if any of them ever tried to 
spend the winters here. There is abundant evidence that they were 
in the habit of passing through the Connecticut river valley spring 
and fall to hunt and fish. They no doubt had temporary camps 
at various points along what they called " Quinne-attuck-auke," 
or "Long-deer-place" (the Connecticut river). 

There was a trail from the headwaters of the St. Francis river in 
Canada to the headwaters of the Connecticut river, and down the 
latter to Isreals river (called by them Siwoog-a-nock), where a 
branch trail passed through the White Mountain Notch to Pickwa- 
qet (Conway — Pigwaket) on the Saco river. The main trail down 
the Connecticut was intersected by a branch of the White Mountain 
Notch trail, near the mouth of the Ammonoosuc river, and thence 
the main trail continued down the Connecticut through " Lower 
Coos," to the various settlements along that river. 

They left but few relics behind them. Once in a while the plow 
of the white man has turned up an arrow-point or a rude stone 
hatchet. These were lost in hunting. There were never found any 
ruins of villages, or burial grounds, in the limits of the town. In 
the spring of 1894 a freshet washed out a cache of arrow-points on 
the meadows, on the Vermont side of the river, just above the 
Union, or South Lancaster, bridge. These had no doubt been 
hidden for use on some subsequent trip to the place by an Indian 
hunter who failed either to find them, or to return on a proposed 
hunting-trip. At that point it is said they were accustomed to 
remain for a time to make, or mend, boats on their hunting-trips 
along the river. The only relic of importance that has ever been 
found in Lancaster was a very curiously carved dish turned up by a 
plow in working the road just east of Prospect Farm, owned by 
George P. Rowell of New York. 

This interesting dish was badly broken by the plow that turned it 
up, and no effort was made to save the fragments. From the de- 
scription of it there can be little doubt that it was the product of 
more skilful hands than those of the tribes known to have laid claim 
to the lands of " Upper Coos." 

All the Indians known to have frequented this section of country 
were Algonquins. They were known by various tribal names, but 
were of the same stock. Northern New Hampshire was held by 



LANCASTER. 1 5 

Abenaquis and Taratines, residing for the most part on the Penob- 
scot, Saco, and Piscataqua rivers. Those on the Penobscot river 
were known by that name, while those on the Saco were called 
Pickwaqets. Those residing on the Androscoggin (Aneriscogin) 
river were known by the euphonious name of Arosagontacooks (St. 
Francis tribe). These were local names applied to them by the 
settlers who had imperfect knowledge of them. 

The Connecticut river valley and Vermont was claimed by both 
the Abenaquis and Iroquois, as their rightful hunting-ground. The 
Abenaquis and Mohawks (Iroquois) were bitter enemies of each 
other, and were in constant hostilities. That may, in a measure, 
account for the very slender hold the Abenaquis had upon this sec- 
tion of the country, and failed to develop permanent settlements in it. 

Both nations hunted in the disputed territory, and neither held it 
by occupation or abode. After many contests with the colonists in 
Massachusetts and the southern part of New Hampshire the various 
tribes of the Abenaquis nation being either destroyed, or rendered 
peaceful in the main, their incorrigibles and outcasts found a refuge 
with the St. Francis tribe in Canada, from whence they continued 
their attacks upon the frontier settlements. During that period this 
medley St. Francis tribe made the Coos country their highway from 
their stronghold at the mouth of the St. Francis river to the settle- 
ments of English in New Hampshire. This lasted for a period of 
more than fifty years, and was encouraged by the French occupants 
of Canada who were glad to beat back the tide of English settle- 
ments by means of exciting the Indians to depredations of the most 
diabolical sort. Their threats, and their known evil character, pre- 
vented the settlement of the country long known in the older settle- 
ments by the names of " Cohoss " and " Moose Meadow." 

Among the St. Francis tribe thus feared were outlaws from King 
Phillip's bands, the tribes once led by Paugus, Massaudowit, Kan- 
cauragus, and Wahawa. The vicious character of these outlaws was 
well known, and led old pioneers to look upon them as the sum of 
all evil aggravated by French intermeddling. They delayed the set- 
tlement of Coos county by half a century, and would not then have 
yielded to the English occupancy of the country but for the chastise- 
ment they received at the hands of Major Rogers's Rangers. 

After the French and Indian War had been in progress for some 
time, and Crown Point had fallen into the hands of the English and 
was strongly fortified, General Amherst determined upon proper 
punishment of the Indians. Among other very important steps 
taken by him for the future safety of the settlements on the frontier 
was the sending of Major Rogers, in command of a small force of 
his famous Rangers, to destroy the village of St. Francis and punish 
the Indians. 



i6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

He marched against the place and on the morning of October 
6th, 1759, led an assault upon the village in which every Indian 
except a few women and children was slain. The Rangers found 
more than six hundred scalps that had been taken in their assaults 
upon the frontier settlements, or lonely hunters who had ventured 
into the forests in pursuit of game and furs. From that time on, the 
St. Francis tribe of outlaws never recovered the loss they sustained 
at the hands of Rogers's Rangers. From that time the Coos country 
became a safe place for hunting, and soon was open to settlement, as 
we shall see. 

It does not appear that there was ever any conflict between the 
whites and the Indians in the limits of Lancaster. It never became 
necessary to erect a garrison, or fortify the houses against the 
Indians. Not even during the Revolutionary War did the Indians 
commit any depredations upon the settlers in Lancaster, while in other 
places they were a source of much danger and annoyance. There 
were frequent alarms spread through this and other settlements, and 
on several occasions the little bands of brave, men and women were 
brought to the resolution to quit the country when some one of more 
courage than the rest would shame, or persuade, them into remain- 
ing. The most important reminders of the Indian occupants, or 
rather claimants, of this territory, are the names they gave to the 
country, its streams and mountains, animals and plants; and yet 
these have been almost supplanted by names given by the white 
settlers. The Anglo-Saxon has but little regard for aboriginal 
names. His apt imagination and self-assurance lead him to invent 
and apply names to localities with an aptitude never quite equalled 
by the American Indians. His new names supplant the aboriginal 
ones so readily as to cause them to be almost forgotten in a single 
decade. Such was the case in Lancaster. When the whites did 
attempt to preserve and use the Indian names they corrupted their 
spelling and pronunciation so as to completely change them. The 
Indians gave the name of " Coo-ash-auke," to the meadows at 
Haverhill and Lancaster. As their names always had some definite 
meaning there has been a difference of interpretation of this name. 
A very early interpretation of " Coo-ash-auke," and one very gener- 
ally accepted by the earlier writers, is '* the-crooked-place." This 
meaning had the very plausible facts of the great bends or " ox- 
bows " and " cat-bows" as they were called, to sustain it. 

To that class of interpreters the terms of "Lower" and "Upper 
Coos," soon came to mean the lower and upper bends in the river. 
The similarity of the bends in the river and the fact that they were 
early known as " Lower," and " Upper Coos," was taken to mean 
lower and upper bends, or " crooked-places " to follow the Indian 
idiom. A later interpretation of " Coo-ash-auke " gives it the 




Original Town Pocketbook. 



LANCASTER. 1 7 

equally possible meaning of " Pine-tree-place," or place of pines. 
That these intervales were covered with giant pines to the river's 
edge admits of no doubt. It has been asked, — " Were there not 
pines all along the rivers? " 

There were, and the evidences of it remain to this day. I do not 
attempt to settle this mooted question. The reader must do that 
for himself until we have a final authority to which we can appeal, 
if such is possible. 

This name has been greatly corrupted in the spelling. What 
seems to have been the first corruption of " Coo-ash-auke " was 
" Cowasse." Later this was shortened into "Cowass;" then the 
spelling was changed to " Kohass ; " still later we meet with 
" Cohas," " Coas," " Cohos," " Cohoss," " Cooss," "Coo-ash," and 
finally shortened down to " Coos," which we cannot help regarding 
as a mistake. Either '* Cohos " or " Co-ash " would have been a 
more euphonious sound than our present " Coos." 

The name given to the Connecticut river was " Quinne-attuck- 
auke " — the long-deer-place — from which our form of spelling was 
easily derived. Our Isreals river they called " Siwoog-a-nock," the 
meaning of which seems to have been lost at a very early date. 
The present name is in honor of one Isreal Glines, as before stated, 
who hunted and trapped on the stream at a very early period. He 
had his camp on the stream for some time while his brother John 
had a camp on the present John's river running through Whitefield 
and Dalton. As near as can now be ascertained at this time they 
were here some time between 1740 and 1752. When John Stark 
was captured by the St. Francis Indians on Baker's river in 1752, 
and carried to Canada along the Connecticut river trail, he relates 
that they camped on Johns river and hunted beaver, indicating that 
the name had attached to the stream long enough to have become 
known to him before the time of his capture. 

The Indian name of the Ammonoosuc river was " Namoas-auke," 
— " Fish-place." The change to our present form of spelling was a 
simple one. 

The spruce they called " hackmatack," larch was " tamarack," 
and mountain ash, " moose-missic." These names were retained 
by the whites for a time until they became familiar with the com- 
mon names of the trees, when their Indian names were dropped. 
The same was no doubt true of many other names of things. 
3 



1 8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

CHAPTER IV. 
THE SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER. 

Lancaster was settled by a company of people from Massachu- 
setts in the year 1763, instead of the petitioners of the governor and 
Assembly from the older settlements in the southern part of the 
province of New Hampshire. For more than a decade Governor 
Wentworth and the Assembly had been urged by New Hampshire 
men to open up the " Cohoss Country " to settlement. The gov- 
ernor was, indeed, willing to grant their requests, but the Assembly 
would not agree with him in his policy of granting new townships 
so far beyond the frontier settlements. 

As early as 1748, Governor Wentworth, in the spirit of avarice, 
which was one of his chief characteristics, began his policy of grant- 
ing charters for new towns on both sides of the Connecticut river. 
His grants of charters were so numerous that soon there were not 
enough actual setUers to occupy the new townships, which led to 
speculation in the lands of the towns by absentee holders of rights 
in many of them. Such was the case in Lancaster, as we shall see 
later ; and it was a source of no small trouble to many of the actual 
settlers whose burdens were often gready enhanced by the failure of 
non-resident landholders to develop their lands, and bear an 
equitable share of the burdens of taxation, as we shall see in the 
course of this narrative. 

The active ones among the original proprietors and settlers of 
Lancaster were Massachusetts men. Some were interested in the 
scheme of settlement in the hope of gaining lands upon which to 
build homes for themselves and their children, while others were 
merely speculative holders of lands from which they hoped to reap 
a rich gain as the community should become prosperous. The 
land was a gift, costing nothing in the first disposal of it, and the 
conditions upon which it was to be held were so easily complied 
with that it invited speculation. 

The leading spirit among the first settlers was David Page of 
Petersham, Massachusetts. He was, in 1761, a grantee of Haver- 
hill, where he was assigned several lots, none of which suited him. 
He abandoned his rights in that town and returned to his former 
home in Massachusetts to brood over his fancied wrongs in the 
allotment of the fertile lands of " Cohoss Meadows," as the place 
was then called. Page was a real pioneer, and had come to enter- 
tain hopes of identifying himself with some prosperous new town. 
Perhaps he was not without an ambition to promote and maintain 
his importance to such new community, for we find that for some 
reason he became known as " Governor Page," an epithet that must 



THE SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER. 1 9 

have been bestowed upon him because a natural leader among the 
proprietors and settlers. 

There was residing in Petersham a young man by the name of 
Emmons Stockwell, who was, in some way, connected with Rogers's 
Rangers in that famous raid upon the village of St. Francis, which 
crushed the power of the French and Indians in the northern 
section, and made it safe to undertake the planting of new settle- 
ments so far from the garrisoned ones farther south. 

It is probable that young Stockwell was in the company that had 
been sent from Crown Point to convey provisions to the mouth of 
the upper Ammonoosuc river for the relief of Rogers's men on their 
return from St. Francis. In that event he would have marched up 
to Fort Wentworth and returned along the Connecticut river, afford- 
ing him a good chance to see the advantages offered in the " Upper 
Cohoss." 

At all events, the knowledge young Stockwell had of this section 
of country, so rich in fine meadow and uplands, fine streams and 
abundant timber, served to make him a valuable assistant to David 
Page in founding the town of Lancaster. Procuring a charter from 
Governor Wentworth, in company with sixty-nine others, the next 
year after abandoning his claims in Haverhill, David Page sent his 
son, David Page, Jr., and Emmons Stockwell, who acted in the 
capacity of guide, to the " Upper Coos," in the latter part of the 
summer of 1763. It was the intention of David Page that these two 
young men should select good lots of land, and erect some sort of 
shelter against his coming, early the following spring. These two 
young men blazed a track from Haverhill to Lancaster, as they 
proceeded through the dense forests, for the guidance of those who 
should follow them the next spring. 

They pitched on the table-lands on the rear of the Holton home- 
stead, where the " cellar-hole " of their house is still to be seen. 
They built here, of logs, the first house occupied by white men in 
town. This house remained for many years, and was pulled down 
by Mr. Holton, within the memory of many persons now living. He 
also dug up a large tree near it, that was its " shade," and beneath 
which the first weary settlers rested, and the first children born in 
town used to play. 

They subsisted by hunting and fishing through their first winter, 
which must have been a lonely and long one for them, separated by 
fifty miles from the nearest settlement at Haverhill. They were no 
doubt cheered by the hope that their friends would join them in the 
spring; and in this they were not disappointed, for on the 19th of 
April, 1764, David Page, in company with Edwards Bucknam, 
Timothy Nash, and George Wheeler, landed here, bringing with 
them twenty head of catde, and other things essential to the hard 



20 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

task of winning a livelihood from an untamed region. David Page 
is the only one of the first settlers who brought a family, or portions 
of their families, here that year. His daughter, Ruth, came with 
him from Petersham, Mass., in August, arriving here on the 26th of 
that month, to enjoy the distinction of being the first white woman 
to set foot upon the soil of her father's new township. The wife of 
David Page came here at some subsequent time, of which we have 
no exact knowledge. It has been often said that she did not reside 
in Lancaster, but that is evidently not true, as there are in existence 
letters of the year 1782, that refer to her departure from Lancaster, 
her passage down the Connecticut river in a canoe, and her resi- 
dence and death at Winchester. (Whether Winchester, N. H., or 
Winchester in Massachusetts, is not certain, though the former is 
probably the one meant.)* 

Ruth Page was only about eighteen years of age when she started 
with her father for Lancaster, over three hundred miles away, and 
some fifty miles beyond the nearest settlement. The fact that 
within a year of her arrival in Lancaster she became the wife of 
young Stockwell, lends color to the supposition that she must have 
known and entertained a warm affection for him. At all events, she 
would hear no arguments against her undertaking so long a journey, 
and leaving behind her all the benefits of civilized life, for life in a 
cabin in the wilderness. Be that as it may, her presence and in- 
fluence did much for the settlement. She and Edwards Bucknam, 
who came with her father in the spring, did more to give shape and 
character to the settlement than any, or all others, of the first settlers. 
She was the embodiment of all female qualities essential to pioneer 
life ; and she left her characteristics and personality stamped, not 
only upon her own descendants, who were numerous, but upon the 
entire settlement. She was a Avoman of action, full of courage and 
hope. With a determination that knew no such word ^.•~,fail, she 
filled the hours and days so full of toil and song, that there was no 
time to be lonesome. Her example had a wonderful influence upon 
the other members of the settlement. 

While Ruth Page was a source of inspiration and cheerfulness to 
the settlement, Edwards Bucknam was, in his sphere, the most uni- 
versal genius of the settlement. There was little, if indeed anything, 
that needed doing in a new settlement that Bucknam could not, and 
did not, do. No other man, at any time in the history of the town, 
has exerted so powerful an influence as he did. He adapted him- 
self to his situation in a masterly manner, helping, in many ways, 
the prosperity of the new settlement. He kept the first stock of 

* In "Hammond's Town Papers," Vol. XII, pp. 351-361, is found a petition from 
David Page to Governor Wentwortli, for more land, in which he alleges that he brought 
his own family to Lancaster. His will is dated at Lancaster, in the county of Grafton, 
state of New Hampshire, November 13, 1778, in which he refers to himself " of Lan- 
caster." 



THE SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER. 2 1 

goods for barter among the settlers ; surveyed their lands ; acted as 
clerk to the proprietors, and later for the town ; was the first justice 
of the peace ; acted as scout in times when the Indians threatened 
the peace of the settlement ; built the first roads that allowed the 
passage of loaded teams from Haverhill to Lancaster ; was a safe 
•and constant advisor of his neighbors on all manner of subjects, and 
■at all times. He was often unmindful of opportunities for self- 
advancement and gain when he could serve his neighbors. He was 
always trusted by his neighbors as one of the most reliable of men, 
nor was their confidence ever imposed upon. His public actions 
and neighborly relations were always above criticism. Of his early 
life little is known beyond the fact that he was born in Athol, Mass., 
June 21, 1 741, of English parentage; and that he married Susannah 
Page, a daughter of David Page. Until the time of his death, March 
20th, 181 3, at the age of 72, his life bore relations to about every- 
thing in the history of Lancaster, as we shall see in the progress of 
our narrative. Until Parson Willard arrived, he performed all the 
marriage ceremonies of the town and region. 

Not so much can be said of David Page, although the real pro- 
jector and founder of the settlement. While he possessed, in a 
large measure, the spirit of the pioneer, he was not destined to be 
the masterly personality that should stamp itself upon the settle- 
ment. His time was, more or less, divided between interests here 
and in Petersham, Mass., where he owned a farm, which he, how- 
ever, sold to Charles Ward Apthorpe of Bloomingdale Island, N. Y., 
a speculator, to whom he also sold ten full rights of land in Lan- 
caster in 1766. Page was badly involved in debt most of the time, 
and often drawn into litigation. His business transactions seem to 
have not always been either wise or fair. Be that as it may, he 
never seemed to have become the controlling spirit he desired to be 
in the settlement. His five children, however, as well as his brother 
and a nephew, held honest places in the town, and were among the 
most trustworthy of its citizens. David Page was the owner of 
much land in Lancaster, and Lunenburg, Vt., in the chartering of 
which latter town he was also concerned. He is credited with hav- 
ing built the first frame house in Lancaster. Certain!}' he was an 
enterprising man, full of business ventures, and not without the 
refinements and social graces of his time. His services to Lancaster 
were valuable, even if his personality was not accepted as the con- 
trolling spirit among the settlers. He was a selectman from 1769 
until 1776. He was designated and given power in the charter to 
call the first meeting and preside as moderator. The proprietors' 
records having been lost in the burning of Edwards Bucknam's 
house, we have no knowledge of what relation he sustained to the 
settlement previous to 1769. 



22 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Timothy Nash and George Wheeler seem to have never come 
into any prominence in the settlement. The former did, however, 
discover the old Indian pass through the White Mountains, now 
known as the " White Mountain Notch," in the year 1771, while on 
a hunting trip. Having tracked a moose up one of the rivulets he 
was led near the highest point of land, and eagerly climbed a tree 
for a longer view of the rocky defile. Satisfied that he had dis- 
covered the pass affording the shortest route to Portland he confided 
his discovery to a hunter by the name of Sawyer. These two soon 
appeared before Governor Wentworth and made known to him the 
discovery ; and in his spirit of liberality the governor rewarded 
them by the grant of a tract of land since known as " Nash and 
Sawyer's Location." In this manner, Timothy Nash has left a 
memorial of himself for all time. Wheeler appears only a few^ times 
on the records of the town, or its landholders, and then as a 
common laborer, or renter of the lands of others. He held a lease 
on a certain portion of the famous "Cat-Bow" tract in the southern 
part of the town in consideration of having cleared the land, after 
which he disappears from the notice of both public and private 
records so far as we can learn. 

Such were the first little band of settlers who broke the primeval 
forest, and tamed the soil, and were the nucleus of a town peculiar 
in its situation and history for more than a century. 

In addition to what young Page and Emmons Stockwell did 
through the winter of 1763 in clearing land, the settlers were able to 
plant a crop of twelve acres of corn the first season on the meadows. 
Their corn did well, and promised an abundant crop until on the 
night of August 26th, when a frost killed it. They report that 
this first crop raised in town "stood twelve feet high, was eared out, 
and in the milk " on that date. This was to them the greatest dis- 
couragement that ever befell the little company. There seemed 
nothing left for them to do but to abandon the place. Their entire 
dependence for bread was swept away in a single night; and the 
season was too far spent to hope to retrieve their losses by planting 
any other crops that year. 

It happened that on the day preceding this destructive frost, 
David Page had returned from Petersham accompanied by his 
resolute daughter, Ruth, then a girl of about eighteen years of age. 
She proved to be of inestimable value to the disheartened settlers. 
After all hands had agreed to abandon the place she refused to 
accede to their judgment, and begged them to remain and try again 
to make good their determination to establish a community of their 
own. Half persuaded, half ashamed of their timidity in the presence 
of that brave girl who had given up so much to share their lot with 
them, they reluctantly agreed to risk their all and remain another year. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER. 23 

But for the earnest pleadings of that girl against the judgment and 
fears of the six men comprising the settlement, the history of the 
" Upper Coos" would have been a different story than the narrative 
we shall trace through more than a century and a quarter. 

Knowing that great hardships were in waiting for them through a 
long winter, they gave themselves resolutely to the task of wresting 
a living from the forests. They managed, however, to subsist on 
game together with such roots and berries as they found palatable. 
One can scarcely imagine a company of people going into one of 
our long winters, more than fifty miles from the nearest settlement, 
without the semblance of food in their cabins, and forced to rely upon 
the flesh of wild animals from day to day for subsistence. Young 
Page and Stockwell had, however, demonstrated the possibility of 
such a thing by subsisting for nearly a year in that manner. They 
were re-enforced by Edwards Bucknam, who, if he was not then, 
afterwards became, one of the most expert moose-hunters in this 
region. Nash, too, must have been something of a hunter and 
adventurer, for we find him chasing moose in the "White Mountain 
Notch" in 1771. 

Fortunately for the settlers that winter this region abounded in 
moose, and other game and fur-bearing animals. Then the streams 
abounded in fish of the best quality, easily taken in the spring. The 
Connecticut river then teemed with salmon every spring, and the 
settlers soon came to look to it as a source of supply in meat. The 
fine flavor of the salmon must have afforded them a pleasant 
change from moose and bear meat to which they would be confined 
for the greater part of the year. 

We must not forget, however, that David Page brought with him 
in April, twenty head of stock, and during the summer added 
twenty more. They must have had milk in abundance ; and in case 
of necessity could have dressed and eaten their cattle. The only 
wonder is, how they subsisted so long on a flesh diet without bread 
or vegetables. They were probably but little worse off than other 
settlers in the nearest settlements, as the great frost extended as far 
south as Massachusetts. 

Their cattle wintered well and everything assumed a promising 
aspect in the spring of 1765. They planted again, but reaped a 
scanty harvest, that, and the succeeding year ; but the next year, 
their fourth year of effort was crowned by a most abundant harvest. 
From then to the present time no season has passed that has not 
yielded enough to feed the people. Some seasons, as we shall see 
later, were less bountiful than others in the yield of certain crops; 
but as soon as the people learned to raise a variety of crops, and 
not trust their all upon a single one, the period of want and uncer- 
tainty was passed. 



24 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Some supplies were brought from Haverhill and Newbury, Vt., 
during the first decade. The settlers managed to get along for 
some twenty years without a mill for grinding their grain. They 
relied upon the use of the pestle and mortar during that time. The 
mortar was made of a log of hard wood some three feet long, one 
end of which was hollowed out, and into which the grain would be 
poured, and beaten with a pestle, which was sometimes of stone, 
but often of wood, mounted on a spring-pole, either in the yard or 
one corner of the kitchen. The corn was sometimes hulled by 
soaking until the hull would burst, when by drying it could easily 
be separated from the kernels. 

Sometimes the corn was mixed with beans, or rye, or perhaps 
both. This mixture was called samp, and was boiled after which it 
was sometimes baked. It has been thought that this dish was one the 
whites learned from the Indians the process of making. That may 
be true ; but all men living under the same circumstances will do 
similar things. Our ancestors were mote inventive than the Indians, 
and would have worked their way through difficulties more rapidly. 
The Anglo-Saxon race never fails to adapt itself to any conditions 
under which it must live and work out its destiny. These first 
settlers of Lancaster were a striking proof of this claim. We may- 
regard their coarse and simple fare with surprise and feel a pity for 
them ; but it was one best calculated to fit them to their labors. 
They derived from it the muscular energy that enabled them to 
perform most herculean tasks ; and they were a healthy class of 
people because of their simple life. Their coarse and simple food, 
regular exercise in daily employments and outdoor life, kept them 
well and strong. For many years the majority of the people lived 
in log houses, often far from comfortable in their appointments. 

The year 1765 was spent by the little company of settlers in 
enlarging their clearing and building more cabins for the shelter of 
their band. During that year Emmons Stockwell and Ruth Page 
were married. They rode all the way to Walpole, N. H., in order 
to find some one authorized to solemnize a marriage. 

Upon their return Stockwell erected a log cabin on his land which 
adjoined that of Page on which the first clearing was made. He 
was a prosperous pioneer, honest, industrious, and frugal, and in 
every way worthy of the noble wife who was the mother of his fif- 
teen children. They both lived to a great age, and long enough to 
see the little settlement grown into a prosperous community. After 
some years they built a frame house to take the place of their log 
cabin. That little house is still standing as the L part of the 
present house on the Stockwell farm, and is the oldest frame build- 
ing in town. 

It was out of a window of this buildinc: that Ruth Stockwell 



THE SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER. 25 

shot a bear one day. Hearing a great noise and commotion among 
the domestic animals she opened the door and looked out in time 
to see a large bear prowling about in the yard. She shut the door, 
took up a loaded gun, and raising the window fired at the bear, 
severely wounding him. The report of the gun attracted her hus- 
band from the fields to the house to see what the matter was. Mr. 
Stockwell finished the bear with a club. Ruth Stockwell's courage 
never failed her, nor was she ever slow to take every advantage in a 
difficult situation. Often when her husband was absent she would 
have sudden and unannounced calls from roving bands of Indians, 
who would call for food, or to warm themselves beside her hearth ; 
but never did her suspicions of them give way to alarm, or cause 
her to show Signs of fear. In her treatment of them she was always 
kind but firm. If they insisted on remaining through the night she 
allowed them to do so ; but she required them to give up to her all 
their weapons which she put away for safe keeping until they were 
ready to leave, when she would hand them back to their owners, 
who always departed in peace. Even during the War of the Revo- 
lution when Mr. Stockwell was away on duty as a scout, these bands 
of Indians would continue to call at the Stockwell home, sometimes 
for powwows and dances, often making free use of liquors, but 
never did they forget the kindness of their host and his brave wife. 
The British used every means to induce the Indians to harass the 
frontier settlements ; but not once through the whole long and bitter 
struggle was the defenceless settlement at Lancaster disturbed. It 
is creditable to the memory of those noble men and women, that in 
all those turbulent times they never treated the Indians unkindly, 
and in turn the Indians refrained from harming them. Justice and 
mercy will win the good will of even a savage. Thus the sense of 
justice and humanity in the conduct of these pioneers averted all 
dangers of attack from the savages. 

From the earliest years of the settlement, bands of Indians wan- 
dered through Lancaster, hunting and stopping to traffic with the 
white settlers. Emmons Stockwell, David Page, and Edwards 
Bucknam carried on quite a trade with the Indians by which they 
accumulated considerable stocks of furs which they traded for sup- 
plies. Among the private papers of Edwards Bucknam, who 
administered upon the estate of David Page, I find a letter and bill 
consigning to Page a stock of goods for such traffic : 

"Boston, January, 1767. 
'' Mr. David Page, 
Sir- 
Agreeable to our conversation I have sent the goods I talked of, of which you 
have an Invt. to be sold on my account & Risciue. I hope they may sell well 
among the Indians, & you will take care to send me down to Boston the Neat 



26 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



Produce of them in Beaver skins as Early in the Spring as possible After deduct- 
ing charges for certain commissions etc. 

y Most Hble Servt. 

W. Molineaux." 



The inventory referred to in Molineaux's letter is this: 

" Invt. of Sundry good Delivered to Mr. Saml Jennison to cart to Lancaster in 
New Hampshire directed for Mr. David Page of Lancaster & these to be sold by 
him to the Indians & to Receive Beaver in Return on the Propper Risque of W. 
Molineaux, Mercht in Boston. 

I grind stone 

I Doz. Scythes 

I Doz. Sickles 

I Doz. Wood Axes 

5 Barrs Lead 

I Bagg Flints for guns 

lo .VT. iC^ Nails, at 7/ 

I Whole Barr,i Gun Powder 

I Cask for do. 

I Barr,i Rum, 96 gal. at i/g 

3 Barr,'» for Do. 

I P"". Indian Blanketing 

1 P=. 30 yards Half thick 

2 Russian Saw bans 166 
I Barr English steel 16/ 



£ 


sh. 


d. 





6 


0. 


n 


13 


4 





16 





3 


4 


0. 


I 


9 


0. 





5 


0. 


3 


10 


0. 


7 


10 


0. 




2 


8. 


8 


8 


0. 





9 


0. 


6 


9 


6. 


2 


9 


4- 


3 


17 


5- 





8 






Lawful money 
Boston January 1767. 



£Ai 



17 



Errors Excepted 

W. Molineaux." 



One may well doubt whether Page ever sold the grindstone or 
any scythes to the Indians; but the blanketing, rum, lead, and 
powder no doubt found ready conversion into their market value of 
beaver skins and other furs. Furs were abundant, and large packs 
of them were carried out on horseback during the first few years, 
and later " carted " down the Connecticut river on the ice. There 
were no wagon roads to the Upper Coos when the goods, above 
referred to, were " delivered to Saml. Jennison to be carted to Lan- 
caster," for as late as February, 1768, we find the Provincial Assembly 
dealing with a petition from David Page and others for a road to 
Upper Coos [Provincial Papers, Vol. 7, pp. 151, 152, 195, 266, and 

313]- 

At the time referred to the settlers used a sort of sled called a 
" car" for transporting goods on the snow and ice. It was made of 
two long poles dressed thin enough at a particular distance from the 
butt ends to allow the slender ends to bend up and answer for 
shafts by which the vehicle was drawn by a horse. Knees and 
cross-bars bored into the portion of poles resting upon the surface, 



THE SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER. 2 J 

allowed the load to be adjusted high enough to pass over ordinary 
obstruction met with on the ice. In this way large loads were 
drawn with considerable ease and dispatch. This style of car was 
not peculiar to Lancaster, nor to the period of its settlement. It had 
been used by all the early settlers in different parts of the country 
as early as 1630. It is still in use in the mountainous sections of 
the Virginias, and possibly throughout the whole Alleghany Moun- 
tain regions. These early settlers were full of resources. They 
could surmount almost any difficulties liable to be met with in their 
wild surroundings. 

Edwards Bucknam who came here in the employment of David 
Page, and worked for him some years, married his daughter, 
Susannah, and located at the mouth of Beaver brook. Just when he 
built his log cabin there is not known ; but there he lived through- 
out the remainder of his eventful life, and near the site of his first 
house he lies buried in a grave that has long been unmarked, but 
over which his grandson, Edward F. Bucknam, is now erecting a 
suitable monument. There his ten children were born. There 
seem to be some discrepancies in regard to General Bucknam's 
children. Tradition has it that he only had six children, two sons 
and four daughters ; but the record of births in his family as found 
in volume i, p. 189, gives the names and dates of birth of ten chil- 
dren, three sons and seven daughters, as follows : 

•'Eunice, born June 4 th, 1767. 

Mary, '' July 22d, 1769. 

Soffia, " Feb. 13, 1 77 1 , died Nov. 16, 1771. 

Lydia, " Nov. 5, 1772. 

Susanna, " Nov. 5, 1774, died April 7, 1776. 

Susanna {2d), '' Feb. 7, 1777. 

Edwards, " Feb. 15, 1780. 

Grove, " Jan. 12, 1783, died April 13, 1783. 

Sally, " May 22, 1784. 

George, " Sept. 27, 1786." 

It is also claimed by some that Eunice Bucknam was the first 
white child born in Lancaster. This claim is not true, for we have 
a reliable record of the birth of Emmons Stockwell's children that 
shows that the distinction of being the first white child born in Lan- 
caster belongs to Polly Stockwell, born December 25, 1765. From 
a family record in the possession of A. P. Freeman, son of Betse>- 
Stockwell, the eleventh child of Emmons and Ruth Stockwell, I 
take the following facts : 

" Children of Emmons and Ruth Stockwell : 

Polly, born Dec. 25, 1765. 
Sally, '« April 27, 1768. 

David, " July 7, 1769. 



28 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Charlotte, born Oct. 24, 1770. 



Dolly, 


" Sept. 2, 


1772. 


Ephraim, 


" Oct. 25, 


1774- 


Liberty, 


" Aug. 27 


, 1776. 


Ruth, 


^' Sept. 21 


, 1778. 


Emmons, ' 


" Oct. II, 


1780. 


Phebe, 


' Oct 14, 


1782. 


Betsey, 


' June 18, 


1784. 


Samuel, ' 


' May 27, 


1786, 


William, ' 


' Feb. 17, 


1788. 


John, 


' Dec. 25, 


1790. 


Mary, ' 


' April 4, 


1792." 



These two records are authentic and settle all points in regard to 
this question at issue between the descendants of these two first fami- 
lies. Some credit and interest always attaches to the privilege of being 
the first person born in a new settlement, and that certainly belongs, 
in this case, to Polly Stockwell, unless the tradition be true, that there 
being no other women in Lancaster, Ruth Stockwell went to her mo- 
ther in Petersham, Mass., to be confined. If that was the case, then 
the honor of the first birth in Lancaster goes to the family of Ed- 
wards Bucknam, and his daughter Eunice carries off the honors. This 
tradition is a plausible one, and there is no direct evidence against 
it. The wife and the rest of David Page's family came to Lancaster 
as near as we can learn about 1767. It is altogether likely that this 
one lone woman in a pioneer camp of a half dozen men would 
prefer the fatigue of a journey of more than three hundred miles to 
be with her mother at the time her child was born than to have 
remained here without any one capable of giving her the care she 
required at such a time. The practical good sense of the commu- 
nity led them to provide for such emergencies in the future by voting 
at the first proprietors' meeting, "To give one good Right of land 
to the first good Midwife that shall come and settle in Lancaster on 
or before the first day of next December." 

That meeting was held March 10, 1767, at the dwelling house of 
David Page. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Location, Survey, and Allotment of the Town Lands — Terri- 
torial Conflict with the Town of Stonington — Re-location of 
Boundaries — Renewal of the Charter — Final Allotment and Dis- 
tribution of Lands, and Settlement of Conflicting Claims to 
Titles. 

Some time between the actual settlement of the town and the first 
proprietors' meeting we have any knowledge of, March 10, 1767, 
the discovery had been made that Page, Stockwell, and Bucknam 



LOCATION, SURVEY, AND ALLOTMENT OF TOWN LANDS. 29 

had located on territory covered by the charter of Stonington. 
Although it does not seem that the grantees of Stonington had 
taken any action at that time to dispossess these settlers, they 
became deeply concerned over the possible danger of losing the 
homes they had sacrificed so much to establish. They made it a 
matter of public action. 

David Page, who had no doubt been the real discoverer of their 
mistake, was authorized by the vote of that meeting to " change the 
boundaries of the town," and was voted, also, a compensation of one 
dollar on each right for his services in that undertaking. Not satis- 
fied with the results of their own change of the location of the 
bounds, they sent to Portsmouth in 1 769 and had Lieut. Joshua Tol- 
ford, son of John Tolford, one of the proprietors, come up and 
survey the town, hoping no doubt to give his survey the weight of 
the governmental sanction, as he was one of the governor's deputy 
surveyors-general. Tolford seems to have run on the same lines 
that Page located two years before, and gave entire satisfaction to 
the proprietors. He laid out the town plot provided for in the 
charter, and also the first and second divisions of the town lands. 
These divisions consisted of twenty-acre meadow lots, and fifty-acre 
house lots lying contiguous to them on the first elevation of the hill- 
lands. The town plot consisted of seventy one-acre lots lying along 
both sides of a street four rods wide, beginning at a point about 
where E. V. Cobleigh's house stands on Prospect street and running 
east to the second bend in Isreals river, near the dam of the old 
paper mill. The design was that every proprietor should build his 
house on one of these lots which were disposed of by "draft" in 
the same manner that the first and second divisions had been. Just 
what disposition was ever made of this allotment is not so clear. 
The plan laid down for them by Governor Wentworth to form a vil- 
lage community, after the old system that had prevailed in England 
some centuries before that time, did not seem to meet the approval 
of the hardy pioneers. So far as we know anything of the original 
proprietors or actual settlers, they built their houses upon their sev- 
eral " house-lots." There is no doubt that the "town plot " was a 
failure, for we soon discover that the town bought six of those lots 
for their " meeting-house lot " on the western end of the street. 
There is no evidence that there was ever a street opened and used 
there until the present Pleasant street was laid out in i860, easterly 
from the Meeting House common. 

Tolford's survey was laid before the governor, but just what 
action, if any, he ever took upon the matter is not known. It may 
be inferred, however, that he did nothing about it at the time, for 
the governor then was John Wentworth, a nephew of Benning Went- 
worth, who had granted the charter, and who, if he had then been 



30 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

in office, would no doubt have given his Lancaster friends what 
they asked for. The new governor seems to have hesitated, or to 
have had more conscience than his old uncle, and the unsettled 
question was left for the future to take care of. The proprietors 
were kept in a troubled state of mind over their territorial limits 
for a considerable time. They had taken action upon the matter in 
1766, 1767, 1769, and again in 1773. The towns of Woodbury, 
Cockburn, Coleburn, and Stonington, now regranted as Northum- 
berland, were as greatly disturbed, for if Lancaster was to hold the 
territory she claimed, it would either rob Northumberland of three 
fourths of her best lands or compel her to move up the river upon 
territory granted to Cockburn in 1770, and renew her territorial 
•conflicts with that town. 

At the proprietors' meeting, August 26, 1773, .the location of ten 
rights bought up by Charles Ward Apthorp, a land speculator 
hving in New York, was made, in which the proprietors recognized 
a possible difficulty in holding their claims. These rights were to be 
in the south part of the township on what is known as the Cat-Bow 
on Connecticut river. It was to contain the three hundred and 
sixty acres of meadow land in that famous tract and front two miles 
on the river and run back toward the eastward far enough to include 
ten full rights of two hundred and seventy-four acres each in a body. 
In granting that location this clause was inserted in the vote con- 
firming the location, viz. : 

The grant hereby made to him (Apthorp) shall not operate to the disadvantage 
of the rest of the proprietors by the intervention of any foreign legal claim under 
•color of a mistake in the boundaries of the township. 

In 1769 the proprietors found that they had not quite complied 
with the terms of their charter, and had requested and received a 
renewal of it from Gov. John Went\vorth. In that document refer- 
ence is made to a survey made under the direction of Isaac Rindge, 
surveyor-general of lands of the province, which survey was that 
of Joshua Tolford, but no change of boundary was mentioned or 
made in the renewed charter given below. Under this charter, 
which tacitly conceded the survey of Tolford as the one on which 
the original charter had been granted, the settlers continued to act 
as a body politic upon its rightful territory ; and yet they were not 
•quite satisfied with the validity of their titles as is seen in the allot- 
ment of Apthorp's ten rights. 

That renewed charter, under which the people tried to comfort 
themselves in the security of their titles, is an important document, 
and we give it here in full : 



LOCATION, SURVEY, AND ALLOTMENT OF TOWN LANDS. 3 I 

LANCASTER CHARTER RENEWED 1769. 

Province of New > George the Third by the grace of God of Great Britain 

Hampshire ^ France and Ireland King Defender of the faith and so 

^ Lancaster > forth. 

I extended ^ 
.^ — ^ Whereas we of our special grace and mere motion for the due 

/ L. S. > encouragement of setling a new Plantation within our Prov : of New 

' v.^v-^ ^ Hampshire in New England by our Letters Patent or Charter under 
the Seal of our said Province Dated the 5th day of July Annoque 
Domini 1763 in the Third year of our Reign ; a Tract of Land equal to six miles 
square bounded as therein expressed (& since surveyed admeasured, marked & 
ascertained by our Order to Isaac Rindge Esq' our Surveyor Geni of Lands for 
our said Province) Granted to a number of our Loyal subjects whose Names are 
entered on the same to hold to them their Heirs and Assigns on the Conditions 
therein Declared, and to be a Town Corporate by the name of Lancaster, as by 
reference to the said" Charter may more fully appear. And whereas the said 
Grantees have represented to us that by the great inconveniences which occur 
in the Settlement of New Townships so remotely situated from any other Town- 
ships or Settlements that can afford any Assistance hath rendered it impracticable 
for the whole number of Grantees to perform that part of the condition that 
relates to the Cultivation of such a portion of said Grant. That there are a Con- 
siderable numbers of Families now resident on the Premises, which affords them 
hopes of a final Settlement without delay. And humbly supplicating us not to 
take advantage of the Breach of said Condition, but to lengthen out, and grant 
them some further Time for the performance thereof. Now know ye that we 
being willing to promote the end proposed Have of our further Grace and favour 
suspended our Claim of the forfeiture which the said Grantees may have incurred, 
and by these Presents Do Grant unto the said Grantee their Heirs and Assigns 
the further Term of Five Years from this Date for performing and fulfilling the 
Conditions, matters and things by them to be done as aforesaid. — Except the 

Quit Rents, which are to remain due and payable as expressed and 

reserved in the Original Grant or Charter. 

In Testimony whereof we have caused the Seal of our said Province to be 
hereunto affixed Witness John Wentworth Esq"" our Governor and Commander in 
Chief of our aforesaid Province This 2o"i day of September in the 9"^ year of our 
Reign Annoque Domini 1769, 

J. Wentworth. 
By his Excellency'' Command 
with advice of Council 

Theodore Atkinson Secy 
Pro* of New Hampshire 16''' Nov 1769 — 
Recorded according to the Original Grant under the Province Seal 

P"" Theodore Atkinson SeC-^ 

This renewal of the charter must have been a disappointment to 
the proprietors, for instead of settling their question of title it left it 
open to harass them in the future. For more than a quarter of a 
century they were concerned with this troublesome question. 

The governor having failed to render the relief prayed for in the 
petition for a new charter on the lines of Tolford's survey, the peo- 
ple in their characteristic resoluteness renewed their appeals to the 
government for legel acknowledgment of the re-location of the town- 



32 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ship. At the meeting, above referred to, of August 26, 1773, the 
following vote was passed : 

looted that it appears to this proprietary as a matter of some uncertainty whether 
doubts may not arise with respect to the northerly extent of the boundaries of this 
township which upon a construction set up by sundry persons will deprive the 
whole of the settlers (one only accepted) [that one was Bucknam — Ed.] of their 
lands, possessions and improvements and reduce the township to very inconsider- 
able compass, and the proprietors laboring under very great uneasiness from the 
apprehension of, or expecting a calamity, do therefore request that Ammi R. 
Cutter, Esq., and Mr. Jacob Treadwell will be pleased to lay before his Excellency 
the Governor such representation upon the subject as may appear to them most 
proper to induce his Excellency to grant to the proprietors an explanatory charter 
ascertaining the limits of the said township as the same as was actually surveyed 
by Joshua Tolford and is now allotted to the proprietors and possessed and 
enjoyed by the inhabitants. 

There were residing in Portsmouth and vicinity a number of the 
most influential among the proprietors, friends of the Wentworths, like 
Matthew Thornton, Esq., Maj. John Tolford, Andrew Wiggin, Esq., 
Meshech Weare, Esq., Hon. Joseph Newmarsh, Esq., Nathaniel 
Barrel, Esq., Daniel Warner, Esq., James Nevins, Esq., and Rev. 
Joshua Wingate Weeks. These no doubt pressed the claims of 
Lancaster, and the governor yielded to the pleadings of a letter 
from Jacob Treadwell and confirmed the survey of Tolford, by which 
he had only to crowd Northumberland further up the river in order 
to give it its full territory as set forth in the charter thereof. He 
did not re-issue any of these charters, but simply ordered Northum- 
berland and the towns above it to move up the river and readjust 
their limits. 

This arrangement seemed to settle matters for a time, and in 1787 
the proprietors felt sufificiently satisfied in their titles to vote for a 
final survey and allotment of the unappropriated lands of the town. 
They accordingly set Jonas Baker, who had become something of a 
land surveyor by that time, to work to divide these lands into what 
they called one-hundred-acre lots, or the third division. Of these 
there were to be one hundred and forty, two each for every pro- 
prietor, but did not include the rights that had been previously 
bought by Apthorp. This division included a right each to schools^ 
glebe, and meeting-house. It was found, after all these claims had 
been satisfied, that twelve full lots and many gores of irregular size 
still remained untaken. The proprietors voted : 

Any one holding a right of land in the town of Lancaster may pitch his share 
on any unoccupied lands, and have the same surveyed by a sworn surveyor, have 
a plan and description made of it and have the same recorded by the proprietors' 
clerk in the liroprietors' records, and he shall hold the same forever. 

These lands were eagerly sought for. Soine persons fared well 
in their choice, but many were dissatisfied with what was left for 



LOCATION, SURVEY, AND ALLOTMENT OF TOWN LOTS. 33 

them, and portions of these gores were never located, and possibly 
remain unlocated to-day, but not unclaimed. 

The proprietors were generous in their gifts or appropriations of 
the lands of their township. They wisely set apart for mills a strip 
of land two rods wide on both sides of Isreals river from the head of 
the island, just below Main Street bridge, to the second bend of the 
river, where the Paper Mill dam now is, the rental of which was to 
go for the support of schools. These lands were later rented to 
different persons at the nominal rental of one pint of wheat per 
year, if demanded, which was to be used in the support of schools. 
These rents, of course, being merely nominal, have never been called 
for by the town. 

At the first proprietors' meeting, March lO, 1767, a right was 
set off for the first minister that should settle in the town. Another 
full right of land, and it was to be a " good " one, too, was voted to 
the " first good midwife that shall come and settle in Lancaster on 
or before the first day of December next." Two hundred acres 
were voted, at the same meeting, to David Page for building a black- 
smith shop and keeping tools for the same ; and a half right of 
land to the first physician that should settle in Lunenburg or Lan- 
caster within one year from that date. 

Of course, their only wealth was in land, of which the}' had more 
than they could utilize for the ordinary purposes. If they could 
induce professional and skilled men and women to come here and 
ply their arts and professions, it was wise to offer such inducements 
to them. It is not certainly known whether Page's blacksmith shop 
ever came to be a realized concern, or whether any ph}'sician or 
midwife ever laid claim to the bonus offered to their respective 
professions. 

The final allotment of the lands did not allay the suspense under 
which the settlers rested for so many years. The claims of parties 
were kept alive, but seldom pressed farther than the making of sur- 
veys and the threats of going to law to sustain the claim of priority 
of title under the Stonington or Northumberland charters. The first 
actual settlers in Northumberland found abundant lands of a good 
quality and were satisfied with their situation so far as to which town 
they should finally be found to be living in. The fact that those 
upper towns laid so dangerously near the frontier infested by Indians 
and threatened with incursions of English and Indian soldiers, made 
them of comparatively little value ; and the proprietors found it 
difficult to induce people to settle there even on the most liberal 
conditions. 

Matters continued in this somewhat unsettled condition until the 
Revolutionary War broke out and diverted the interest and atten- 
tion of all parties to these disputes over titles. The intense anxiety 
4 



34 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

and fear of the inhabitants of all these upper towns drew them 
together in a common effort to defend their homes against British 
invasion which was momentarily expected to take place. For a 
time, in the presence of a threatened danger, they suffered them- 
selves to ignore the old contention and stand together through 
twelve anxious years, during which time the little settlements were 
weighed in the balance. The only garrison built in this northern 
section was in the immediate vicinity of those towns aggrieved at 
Lancaster, and they were largely built and manned by Lancaster 
men. At such a time it was not likely that any one thought to 
contend with his neighbors about titles when the title of the Ameri- 
can people to their country was often a doubtful one. 

Once the war was over and peace declared, lands were much 
more valuable than they had ever been before in this section of the 
state, and the old disputes again arose in threats of lawsuits to 
recover the territory once granted as Stonington. In 1790 Jonas 
Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, and Emmons Stockwell were appointed 
a committee to appear before the general court and ask for a new 
charter to the original grantees which should cover territory in 
dispute, and forever confirm the title thereof. The question hung 
very evenly in the balance, and there appeared no strong advo- 
cates for Lancaster as before when this same plea was made in 
1773. Colonel Goffe, however, seems to have championed the 
cause of Lancaster, rather as an apology or explanation of the 
stupidity of Benning Wentworth in granting unsurveyed lands in an 
arbitrary manner certain to bring about conflicts of claims. He 
mentions as some of the reasons why these disputes existed — "The 
loose and uncertain bounds of Lancaster through the geography of 
the River Connecticut not being at the time of the said grants 
particularly known, whereby it made a material alteration in the 
bounds of said Lancaster, and consequently affected the lines of 
Dartmouth." The action upon this petition was taken at a time 
when the Wentworth regime had come to a close by the election of 
Dr. Josiah Bartlett over Joshua Wentworth as president of New 
Hampshire. Failing to get a new charter to confirm their claims, 
the people of Lancaster twice again appointed committees to lay 
their case before the president and general court, but to no effect. 
Having failed to get their rights confirmed they changed their 
tactics, and at a meeting in 1796 voted to employ Richard C. 
Everett, Esq., a young lawyer then recently settled in Lancaster, as 
their "Agent to act in behalf of the proprietors of Lancaster to 
defend any lawsuit or suits, or to commence any action or actions 
against any encroachments that are or may be made upon said 
township of Lancaster, to make any settlement of all or any dis- 
putes which are or may be had with adjacent towns respecting 



LOCATION, SURVEY, AND ALLOTMENT OF TOWN LOTS. 35 

boundaries of said town, and to petition the Honorable General 
Court with any agent or agents of the neighboring towns, whose 
boundaries are disputed, or disputable, for their interference in the 
premises." 

The people felt their title good enough, through the long term 
of their peaceable occupation of their lands, to risk them being 
carried into the law courts, though they never were. Attorney 
Everett was alert and ready for action at any time but never had 
occasion to go to court, nor do w^e know if he ever petitioned the 
general court in relation to the disputed titles. 

The feeling of uncertainty, however, affected some people for a 
long time. When the Rev. Joseph Willard, the first settled min- 
ister in the town, accepted a call to settle here and received the 
right allotted to him, he required of the town the execution of a 
bond of guarantee to him against loss of title in event the town should 
lose its title to the granted township as then located. This bond 
was readily given as the people had no fear of ever being called 
upon to make good any such loss. 

Not until 1853 did the last shadow of fear for their rights pass 
forever away for the inhabitants of Lancaster. In that year one 
Atkinson brought suit against one Goodall to obtain possession 
of lands in Bethlehem under the claim that they belong to the 
grantees of Concord Gore, described in its charter as cornering on 
Lancaster. The Hon. James VV. Weeks, a land surveyor of con- 
siderable reputation, of Lancaster, was employed to survey and 
make a map of the Concord Gore and adjacent territory. When 
the case came to trial in Exeter the court decided that although the 
land in dispute was once intended to be a part of Concord Gore, 
that it was then a part of Bethlehem, and that the accepted bound- 
aries of towns, occupied as long as these had been, could not be 
disturbed by reason of variance from intention of original charters. 
This decision has dispelled all shades of doubt from the minds of 
Lancaster people, and gave undisputed validity to all titles. 

We deem it of sufificient interest to subjoin hereto the names of 
the original grantees and the numbers of the several lots that com- 
prised their respective rights of land in the distributions above 
referred to. 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 
THE ORIGINAL ALLOTMENT OF LANDS. 



Proprietors' Names: 



■-J 



SS 



> m 

S2 






Third Division. 



i:< 






















(i3 




•-1 




M 




u 


4J 


^ 


4J 


-.- 





rt 








J 


P^ 


hJ 






Charles Howe 

Isreal Hale 

Isreal Hale, Jr 

Daniel Hale 

William Dagget 

Isaac Ball 

Solomon Fay 

Jonathan Death 

John Sanders 

Elisha Crosby 

Luke Lincoln 

David Lawson 

Silas Rice 

Thomas Carter 

Ephraim Sterns 

William Read 

Nathaniel Smith 

Thomas Rice 

Daniel Searls 

Isaac Wood 

Nathaniel Richardson 

Ebenezer Blunt 

John Wait 

Ephraim Noyce 

Benjamin Sawyer 

John Herriman 

Samuel Marble 

Joseph Marble 

Jonathan Houghton 

John Rogers 

Abner Holden 

Stanton Prentice 

Benjamin Wilson 

Stephen Emes 

John Sawyer 

John Phelps 

James Reed 

Benjamin Baxter 

Mathew Thornton, Esq 

Andrew Wiggin, Esq 

Meshech Weare, Esq 

Maj. John Tolford 

Hon. Joseph Newmarsh, Esq 
Hon. Nathaniel Barrel, Esq.. 
Hon. Daniel Warner, Esq. . . 

David Page 

David Page, Jr 

Abraham Byam 

Ruben Stone 

John Grant 

John Grant, Jr 

Solomon Willson 

Jonathan Grant 



68 
69 

70 

71 

72 
73 
74 
33 
34 
67 
66 

65 
40 

41 
59 

25 

27 
26 
47 
31 
3 
5 
46 
21 

44 
28 

35 
17 
48 
24 
29 

^8 

7 
4 

ID 

23 
II 
12 

43 
45 
14 
19 
39 
38 

22 

15 
50 

51 

42 

6 

52 
18 



69 

70 
71 
72 
73 
74 
33 
34 
67 
66 

65 
40 

41 
59 

25 
27 
26 

47 
31 
3 
5 
46 
21 

44 
28 

35 
17 
48 

24 
29 

'I 

7 
4 

ID 

23 
II 
12 

43 
45 
14 
19 
39 



15 
50 
51 

42 

6 

52 

18 



23 
18 
26 

I 
24 

5 
26 

I 
22 
12 

7 
19 



3 

27 
15 
10 

13 

3 
23 



9 

28 

9 

27 
8 

27 

15 
12 
20 
24 
14 
23 
19 
23 
16 
10 
II 

5 
17 

6 

14 
12 

25 



13 

24 



ID 

24 
23 
27 
26 

4 

25 
28 

29 

27 
25 
27 
18 

24 



27 
30 



15 
13 
23 
9 
15 
10 

29 

9 

28 

II 

30 
16 

13 

24 
25 
23 
24 
20 

25 
'7 
II 

14 
21 
21 
17 
17 
13 
28 



14 
24 



16 



Cat Bow. 



CatBow. 
Cat Bow. 



CatBow. 



LOCATION, SURVEY, AND ALLOTMENT OF TOWN LOTS. 3/ 

THE ORIGINAL ALLOTMENT OF LANDS— Co////««<r^/. 



Proprietors' Names. 











Third Division. 


C w 












.y^ 


■> to 




















51 














»^ 










o 


■^ V 


a3 




D 




h-) 


■^'^ 


O 3 


fcO 




M 




lU 


en ni 




o 


5 


o 


O 


ES 


cfiS 


C4 


h-i 


(^ 


hJ 


O 



Joseph Stovvel 

Joseph Page 

William Page 

Nathaniel Page 

John Marden 

Silas Bennet 

Thomas Shattock 

Ephraim Shattock 

Silas Shattock 

Benjamin Man 

Daniel Miles 

Thomas Rogers 

John Duncan 

Timothy Whitney 

James Nevins, Esq 

Rev. John Wingate Weeks. . 

Benjamin Stevens 

First Settle Minister 

Gov. Benning Wentworth, 

two rights.* 

Right for School 

Church of England 

Ch. of Eng. Glebe 



S3 

20 

54 

13 
6o 

I 

i6 
36 
37 
49 
9 
61 

32 

64 
62 


53 
20 

54 

li 

57 

58 

I 

2 

16 
36 
37 
49 

6? 

32 

64 
62 










1 


14 


4 


18 


8 


1 


16 

21 


4 


17 
23 


4 
8 


































8 
15 
7 
8 
6 
8 
2 

13 
'5 

20 
29 

27 


3 

I 
I 
I 
2 

5 

I 

1 

I 

5 
5 


32 
25 
15 
II 
26 
8 
12 
18 
25 

30 

li 


I 

2 
2 
I 
6 
6 

3 

I 

I 
I 
I 





Cat Bow. 
Cat Bow 

CatBow. 



' ' The foregoing draft of the several lots placed to eache grantee of the first, 
second, and third divisions in the town of Lancaster were entered, examined, and 
recorded, the same agreeable to vote passed at a Proprietors meeting held in said 
Town by adjournment October 14th 1789. 

By me Edwards Bucknam, Proprietors' Clerk." 

*The two rights of Governor Benning Wentworth, reserved in granting the charter, 
was outside and independent of the seventy-four equal shares into which the town was 
to be divided, and was located on the back of the charter in northwest corner of the 
township. 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN: ITS PROPRIETARY AND 
CIVIL GOVERNMENT. 

Although the charter of the town made it a body pohtic, and 
enjoined upon it the civil mode of government then prevailing in the 
province, on and after the first Tuesday of August, 1763, it seems to 
have been governed wholly by a proprietary system until 1769, when 
a civil form of government was inaugurated by the election of a 
board of five selectmen — David Page, Abner Osgood, George 
Wheeler, Emmons Stockwell, and Edwards Bucknam — a town clerk, 
and other civil ofificers. 

Several influences no doubt intervened to prevent an earlier com- 
pliance with the requirements of the charter. Most of the proprie- 
tors did not intend to locate on their lands. They accepted them as 
a matter of speculation, and yet, no doubt they were cautious not to 
allow the mere handful of actual settlers to have too much liberty in 
the management of the town under the provisions of the prevailing 
.system of town government. The few actual settlers who came 
before 1769, may have felt some hesitancy in assuming the necessary 
ofifices, as there were not enough to fill all the oflfices and leave any- 
body to be governed. The situation would have been even more 
grotesque than on a subsequent occasion when the citizens turned 
out on a muster day, and after filling all the offtces necessary to a 
proper drill, there was left but one private. There were not enough 
men present the first few years to fill the ofifices. They could, and 
did, however, carry out the wishes of their associate grantees in the 
management of the affairs of the town by the election of a moderator, 
clerk, and treasurer, with such committees as were from time to time 
needed. 

The charter designated David Page as the rightful authorit}- to call 
the first meeting of the proprietors on the first Tuesday of August, 
1763, and preside as moderator. If such meeting was held, it must 
have been somewhere else than on their granted territory. The first 
March meeting may have likewise been held at some other point, 
and probably was. It is quite likely, too, that when the first settlers 
discovered that they were not settled upon the territory actually 
described in the charter as belonging to them, that they delayed the 
matter of an early organization, and were content to feel their way 
under a proprietary management of their affairs. The first meeting 
that was held in Lancaster was strictly a proprietary meeting, on 
March 10, 1767. The only actions taken were in regard to the dis- 
posal of lands and the appointment of a committee to locate a road 
to connect with the settlements to the eastward, and with Portland, 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 39 

Me., and to " Lower Coos." The record of that riieeting is of such 
unique character that I am persuaded to give it, as the proprietors' 
records, from which it has been previously quoted, are now entirely 
lost. Only some of the votes passed at that meeting are preserved, 
and these are as follows : 

" Voted: That any person or persons that have rights of land in Lancaster, 
shall have the liberty to pitch them on any unsettled Land upon his performing the 
Duty, which is to clear, plow and sow with Rye or Wheat three acres upon each 
right, and build a house sixteen feet square shall answer for two rights. And if 
any person or persons clear more land than his proportion upon the laying out of 
the Town and lots shall cut them off, shall have the improvements of said land 
until he is paid so much money as two or three indifierent men may judge for the 
clearing thereof. 

" Voted : That the Minister's Lott shall be pitched on the south side of Isreals 
River, in the Meadow at the lower end of the first falls. 

" Voted : That Mr. David Page, Mr. Emmons Stockwell. Mr. Edwards Buck- 
nam, Mr. Timothy Nash, and David Page, Jr., be a committee to Look out and 
mark the road to Pigwakett or to Andriscogin, or to the first inhabitants, and also 
to the Lower Coos. 

" Voted : To give one good Right of land to the first good Midwife that shall 
come and settle in Lancaster on or before the first day of December next. 

" Voted : Mr. David Page two hundred acres of land where he shall think 
proper, not infringing on the Meadow or House lotts, for his building a Smith's 
Shop and keeping tools for the same work. 

" Voted: To give half a Right of land in Lancaster to the first Doctor that shall 
settle in Lunneburg or Lancaster within one year from this day." 

Tradition says that at this same meeting the ten rights bought up 
by Charles Ward Apthorp were located on the Cat-Bow tract. 
Apthorp was a wealthy man and bought up vast tracts of land in many 
places for purposes of speculation. He proved to be a source of 
much trouble to Lancaster, as he bought up thirty-six rights 
between the years 1765 and 1770, at which time he owned a con- 
trolling interest in the town ; and he was not slow to dictate the 
management of their local affairs. He entertained an antipathy 
toward David Page that he dragged into the business management 
of the town as early as 1771. David Page had mortgaged a farm in 
Petersham, Mass., to Nathaniel Wheelright, a merchant in Boston, 
Mass., who on retiring from business a short time before his death 
gave to his nephew. -Charles Ward Apthorp, all his accounts and cer- 
tain other property. The farm was occupied by Jonathan Grant at 
the time David Page removed to Lancaster, but in 1767, Page gave 
Apthorp a deed for the farm, and a dispute arose between him and 
Apthorp over some two hundred dollars of rent due from Grant. 
Apthorp was always hostile to Page, and used every means he could 
to prevent him from holding any ofifice of importance in the town. 
Apthorp owned at that time the rights that had been allotted to the 
following persons: David Page, 22 ; Abram Byam, 50; Reuben 



40 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Stone, 51; Solomon Wilson, 52; Joseph Stowell, 53; William 
Page, 54; Silas Bennet, 55; Thomas Shattock, 56; Silas Shat- 
tock, 58 ; Ephraim Shattock, 57 ; Benjamin Man, i ; Daniel Miles, 2 ; 
John Duncan, 36; Nathaniel Smith, 37; Charles How, 68; Isreal 
Hale, 69; Isreal Hale, Jr., 70; Daniel Hale, 71; William Dagget, 
72; Isaac Ball, 73 ; Solomon Fay, 74 ; Jonathan Death, 33 ; John 
Saunders, 34; Elisha Crosby, 67 ; Luke Lincoln, 66; David Lawson, 
65 ; Silas Rice, 40; Thomas Carter, 41 ; Ephraim Stearns, 59 ; James 
Reed, 25 ; Timothy Whitney, 26; Isaac Wood, 31 ; Nathaniel Rich- 
ardson, 3; John Sawyer, 4; John Rogers, 24; Samuel Marble. 
35. = 36 rights. With this majority of rights, Apthorp domineered 
the town, in some important measures for a number of years to the 
positive detriment of the actual settlers who had come here to make 
homes, and sacrified their chances elsewhere and bound up their 
destiny with that of the town. Things not going to suit him, 
Apthorp, through his attorney, one W. Molineaux of Boston, Mass., 
called a meeting of the proprietors in the fall of 1771, and sent 
Edwards Bucknam the following letter which needs no explanation, 
as it is written in simple and clear language : 

" Boston, Oct. 2ist 1771. 
Mr. Edw'ds Bucknam. 

Having this day given you my Power of Attorney to vote at the meeting now to 
be called by the proprietors of Lancaster, I would have vote agt David Page being 
choose into any office with the Proprietors & upon a meeting being called that you 
would vote for the following officers to be choose viz : Emmons Stockvvell, Mod- 
erator, Edwards Bucknam, Clark & Collector, George Wheeler, Assessor, John 
Cross & David Page Jr Treasurers. The officers being thus choose, you are to re- 
consider all the votes passed on & since the 12th March 1771 & vote that whereas 
after due consideration & debate, you find that all such votes that have passed on 
& since the 12th March 1771, is not only unlawful but detrimental to the Interests 
& settlement of said Township. David Page Esq having acted arbitrarily & 
against the sense of the meeting in consequence of his having a power to appear 
for Mr. Apthorp the owner of 36 rites, whose directions he violated to answer his 
own private purposes ; therefore voted that all the votes aforesaid since 12th March 
1 77 1 till this present meeting are and ought to be null, void & of no effect. Then 
you are to vote that David Page Senr. Esq. immediately deliver up to the new 
dark all the votes, papers, and books in his possession, & if upon refusal to com- 
ply with the vote of the meeting, then it is resolved that said Page be sued forth- 
with by the Clark for withholding said papers &c for the sum of five hundred 
Pounds lawful money to make good the damage that ensue from the want thereof. 
Then you are to chose a committee of three to Examine his accounts & to see 
that he gives credit for all the taxes he has received, and that you have regular and 
lawful proof of such charges he makes for making roads, surveying &c & all other 
work done according to the votes from the first meeting of the loth March 1767 to 
the 12 of the month the day it was dissolved & if after examination the committee 
find a balance due to the proprietors you are to pass a vote that said Page shall 
pay or cause to be paid the said ballance into the hands of the new Treasurer 
within 20 days in failure of which to be sued for the same immediately & when 
recovered to be expended in laying out roads, surveying ect that shall be found for 
the benefit of the township. Voted that the i6th vote on March loth 1767 that 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 4I 

Charles W. Apthorp shall have set oft" to him, beginning at the upper part of the 
Cat Bow, running down the River 2 full miles upon a straight line & to go so far 
back towards the rear of the Town as to take in 10 full shares or rites of Land, in 
good form Be & is now confirmed, & Ratified irrevocable and that it is now further 
voted, that no Person whatsoever shall have right now or at any time hereafter to 
Pitch upon or occupy any part of 10 rites without the written directions or Power 
of said Apthorp or his attorney anything to the contrary voted notwithstanding, 
as it is the opinion of this meeting that it will be for furtherance and better 
settlement of the Town that he or his attorney or who they shall suffer to settle 
thereon have the sole direction thereof. Then voted that this meeting be ad- 
journed till tomorrow at 10 o-clock A. M. and then to vote that the whole of the 
foregoing vote be & hereby is confirmed & ratified irrevocable, then adjourn from 
month to month meeting at each time to do such other business as shall be found 
necessary. 

Sir Yr Very Humbl Servt 

W. Molineaux 

Attorney to 
Charles Ward Apthorp." 

We have now no source of information concerning such meeting 
as is. here ordered, or if it actually took place what transpired at it. 
Of what took place during that year and the following year we can 
never know anything definite, as the records were burnt in 1772. 
We find, howev^er. that the town records, still in a good state of pre- 
servation, show nothing of what took place after the meeting March 
1 1, 1769, which happened to be preserved on a scrap of paper, until 
March 9, 1773, when we have a full record of that meeting, and of 
every subsequent one down to the present day. 

Either nothing w^as done worthy of record, or else it found its only 
record in the proprietors' books that are lost. The new book of rec- 
ord that was begun with the meeting of March ii, 1769, contained 
only the transactions of the annual meetings for the first few years, 
^vhich were civil rather than proprietary in character, showing an 
unmistakable drift from proprietary to a civil control of affairs in the 
town. With the controlling power of the proprietary rights in the 
hands of an absentee, disposed to antagonize the leaders and the in- 
terests of the actual settlers of the town, it would have been strange 
if they had not tried to wrest the power of control from their worst 
adversary. The way was open through the form of local, town gov- 
ernment then prevailing throughout New England for the residents 
of the town to work themselves out of the coils of a mischievous, ab- 
sentee, landlord domination of their affairs. In a civil, town meeting 
the majority of voters present and participating in that meeting ruled. 
Here were the advantages of the New England democracy over land- 
lordism, and the men who came here to found a town were fully im- 
bued with its spirit. They were mostly from western Massachusetts 
and Connecticut, where they had learned the advantages of indepen- 
dence in the management of local affairs, though none the less loyal 
to the provincial government. 



42 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

In disregard of Apthorp's wishes and dictation, David Page was 
continued in office and appointed on important committees for many 
years ; and after the records resume the narrative of the civil actions 
of the people we see nothing more of the domination of Apthorp or 
his attorney. The people gradually got control of their own civil 
affairs and later settled their difficulties with Apthorp in the courts. 

Once organized as a civil division of the province of New Hamp- 
shire, the people applied themselves to the task of developing their 
town as rapidly as their meagre means would allow. They elected^ 
from time to time as they had need, such civil officers in whom they 
had confidence to carry out the wishes of the people as a town rather 
than as a proprietary company. By the time of the annual meeting' 
of 1773 foreign domination and landlordism had been utterly up- 
rooted and the resident voters were in the full control of their local 
affairs, though their powers were somewhat restricted by the Provin- 
cial laws of that time. They voted appropriations for such public 
improvements as were most urgently needed, and in every way fos- 
tered the interests of the residents rather than those of the absentee 
landholders. As early as June 8th, 1773, they voted an appropria- 
tion of eighty-six pounds and eight shillings to assist David Page 
build a mill on Indian brook, and sixty-four pounds for roads. In 
August of the same year they voted one hundred and ten pounds for 
roads, and thirty pounds to assist David Page rebuild his mill, that 
had been burnt almost as soon as it was completed. At that meet- 
ing Emmons Stockwell and E.d\vards Bucknam were elected road 
surveyors. This office had been filled by David Page and Bucknam^ 
from 1769, which is the earliest intimation of its existence. 

Nothing but stern necessity could have led these few men to tax 
themselves so heavily as they did during those few first years of the 
settlement. Roads and mills w^ere essential things, and must be had 
at any cost, so they bravely bore the burdens in the hope of future 
prosperity from their use. Of money they had little, so we soon find 
them making their appropriations for all sorts of public enterprises 
in wheat, when bushels and pecks displaced pounds and shillings in 
the computations in those transactions. During the first few years, 
beaver, moose, and sable skins were their chief currency ; but as 
these animals were already becoming comparatively scarce to an in- 
creased population and wheat was a staple, it became the medium of 
exchange in their traffic, and even the taxes were paid in wheat. Of 
course the taxes on the roads were invariably worked out by the 
citizens at a given amount of wheat for a day's work. Wheat was 
worth about six shillings at that time ; and as there was generally a 
poll tax to the amount of six shillings, and about four shillings allowed 
for a day's work, every voter would perform a day and a half of work 
on the roads in addition to the assessments upon their property. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 45 

This arrancfement was not burdensome to the residents who were 
on the ground to work out their tax on the roads ; but it must have 
seemed a large tax to the non-resident landholders, whose only inter- 
est was in holding their lands for a rise in prices, in order to sell them 
at a profit. 

It was not long before the non-resident landholders began to think 
themselves unduly taxed for the benefit of the actual settlers, and 
they refused to agree to being freely taxed for local improvements, 
and refused to pay the taxes when assessed upon their lands. There 
does not seem to have been any disposition on the part of the resi- 
dents of the town to take any unfair advantage of the non-residents. 
All their taxes fell equally upon the land and chattels. Of course, 
for many years the chattels did not amount to much, as the people 
were absorbed in the improvement of their farms and accumulated as 
little personal property as possible until their farms were cleared and 
good houses built. 

Finding it somewhat difificult to collect taxes on the lands of non- 
residents, the people went to the general court on petition as early 
as 1787, asking for the passage of an act allowing them to lay and 
collect a tax of three pence on every acre of land (public rights ex- 
cepted) for one year, and one penny a year for five years, to be used 
for the construction of " roads, bridges, meeting-house, &c, &c." In 
their petition they set forth the fact that they had appealed to non- 
resident land-owners in vain for help in these important improve- 
ments. Their petition was granted by the passage of such an act, 
and from that time forward the way was clear for raising the means 
of public improvements. 

Taxes were levied on the lands, and when not paid after a reason- 
able time they were sold. Much of the lands of the town were sold 
at these sales to satisfy the town's claims against them for taxes; 
and the non-resident land-owners found that their lands did not grow 
in value as fast as they had hoped for. The collectors were repeat- 
edly authorized by vote of the citizens in town meetings to sell the 
lands of the delinquent taxpayers. It was characteristic of those 
collectors that they never proceeded against the delinquents without 
having first given them some warning of their purpose and one more 
chance to settle up and save themselves extra costs. Prior to tax- 
sales of lands notices like this were sent out, generally printed in the 
New Hampshire Gazette, which was read by many people in all 
parts of New England : 

" State New Hampshire, ) 
Grafton ss. ^ 

Lancaster. 
Notice is hereby Given to the Delinquent Proprietors and owners of Land in 
the Township of Lancaster Tliat said Proprietors at their meeting held in said 



44 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

town the 8th Day of June 1773 by adjournment ; Voted four Dollars on Each 

Right to Pay David Page Esq. for Rebuilding the Mills in said town and three 

Dollars on Each Right to open and Repair the Roads and at their meeting 

held in said town the 26th Day of august 1773, Voted fifteen Pounds to be 

assest on the Proprietors as their Proportion of opening a Road to the Eastward 

of the white hills Being four Shillings and three Pence on Each Right and at 

their meeting held in Said town the loth Day of august 1774 by adjournemnt 

Voted four Dollars on Each Right to be Laid out on the Roads in Said town 

and Eight Shillings and four Pence more on Each Right to David Page Esqr. 

to Rebuild the mills in Said town after Being Consumed by fire that unless the 

Delinquent Proprietors and owners of Lands in the township of Lancaster Pay 
Each and all the afresaid sums or taxes to me the Subscriber by the first Day of 
June Next that their Rights or Shares of Land will be advertised in theNewhamp- 

shire Gazettee for Sale to Pay Said Taxes with incidental charges 

Edwards Bucknam, Collector. 
Lancaster. April 20th, 1789." 

While Lancaster was diligentl}' making public improvements with 
these taxes laid upon her rich acres, she was, like all other New 
England towns, looking after the intellectual and spiritual interests 
of her citizens. Of equal importance as a bridge over Isreals river 
was a meeting-house in which, as they said, " to worship that Being 
to whom we owe our existence." As early as 1786, the town had 
voted thirty-two dollars to be expended for preaching at the hands 
of a committee consisting of Maj. Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, 
and Lieut. Emmons Stockwell. During the next six years various 
sums and amounts of wheat were voted for the purpose of hiring 
preaching. When paid for in wheat, five bushels was the price for 
a " day's preaching." A clay's preaching included two sermons, one 
of which would occur in the morning, and the other followed an 
intermission of an hour or more in the middle of the day, during 
which time the people held social intercourse or partook of refresh- 
ments. In 1 79 1, active steps were taken for building a meeting- 
house on the old common on the hill south of Isreals river. This 
building, fully described in another place, was an imposing structure 
for its day, and two years elapsed before its completion. Like all 
meeting-houses in New England, those days, it served as a place of 
public assemblage for all occasions. The first use we have any 
knowledge of its being put was for holding the annual town meeting, 
March 11, 1794. The house was then only partially completed. Sev- 
eral ministers were employed for short periods, with long intervals 
between, from 1786 until 1794, when the town voted to unite with 
the church in calling the Rev. Joseph Willard, who accepted the call 
and became the first settled minister of the town. The town 
assumed the amount of his salary, and for more than a quarter of a 
century paid it. This expenditure the town continued to meet for 
some forty }'ears, when through disaffections and divisions in church. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 45 

many of its members left it to unite with other churches then being 
formed on the poHcy of a voluntary support of their ministers. 

Just when the voluntary support of the church began we do not 
know, but after the split in the First church over the Trinitarian 
controversy, we find the Orthodox Congregational church appoint- 
ing a committee to solicit money to pay for preaching. This was 
in 1836. Since that time the town has made no appropriations for 
any church, and how long before is uncertain. Some trouble was 
had in the Rev. Joseph Willard's time in collecting the " minister's 
tax." This term has no real meaning to the }'ounger generation, 
although some of the older people still call their contributions to the 
support of their churches " the minister's tax." 

Lancaster was equally zealous in the matter of education. The 
first schools were, no doubt, private enterprises started by such 
persons who felt an interest in the education of their own and their 
neighbor's children. Tradition says that Ruth Stockwell, at a very 
early day, taught the children of the settlement in her own house. 
Her teaching probably only extended to instructions in the alphabet, 
spelling, and reading, with possibly a little attention given to numbers 
— the three R's which lay at the root of all learning. I have before 
me as I write some old letters on the blank margins and backs of 
which Edwards Bucknam's children made their first efforts at the use 
of the pen. The paper of the time was coarse and porous, making 
the writing of the best penmen seem mean. 

Schools were maintained in both the Stockwell and the Bucknam 
neighborhoods as early as 1787. The Stockwell neighborhood 
probably had a school-house before 1789, when a Mr. Bradley 
taught in that section. As early as 1787, the Bucknam neighbor- 
hood had a school taught by one Burgin from Boston, Mass. He 
probably taught in some private house, and may perhaps have 
moved about from one house to another as some of the early 
teachers did in other parts of the town at a much later day. 

The earliest public support we have any knowledge of the town 
giving for its schools was in 1790. At a special meeting held on 
December 13, 1790, it was "voted to raise thirty bushels of wheat 
including what the law directs to be laid out in schooling the present 
winter." The province Avas then governed by the laws of 17 19 as 
regards the matter of school taxation, which was discretionary with 
the selectmen. I have not been able to discover any change in that 
law until 1792, under the constitution. In 1789, Massachusetts led 
all the colonies in the matter of dividing the towns into school dis- 
tricts. In 1 79 1, New Hampshire towns began to follow that 
example, and by 1794, its merits had appealed to Lancaster people 
so strongly that at the March meeting of that year they appointed a 
committee of nine men to divide the town into school districts. 



46 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



What division they made is not known, but whatever it was, it lasted 
until 1 8 14, when a new committee was appointed to redistrict the 
town. 

The first settlers were intelligent men and women who believed in 
education, and not a few of them were scholarly for their times. 
They were liberal in the support of their schools, and ingrained in 
their descendants a policy of liberal support for the schools. During 
the first century of the town's history, its schools were the best in all 
this northern end of the state. Even to-day when statistics show 
that illiteracy in the state is on the increase because of a large 
increase of foreign-born population, it is decreasing in Lancaster. In 
matter of secondary education the town has been comparatively slow. 
At a time when it should have had good secondary schools it has 
had only tolerable ones, chiefly due to the lack of proper super- 
vision. The town is not, and never has been, parsimonious in the 
support of its schools. 

VVhatever defects may have been found in the schools of the town 
at any time within the past generation have been due to the defective 
system the state imposed upon its people. 

In 1798, the school tax for the Bucknam district, or No. 2, was 
only $13.55. ^s this is the first school tax I have been able to dis- 
cover, I give it below, that the taxpayers of to-day may compare it 

with their own. 

" School Tax of 1 797-1 798. 

Edwards Bucknam, 

John W. Brackett, 

Jonathan Hartwell, 

Coffin Moore, 

Moses Page, 

Edward Spaulding, 

Joseph Wilder, 

Peter White, 

John Weeks, 

Stephen Bucknam, 

Isaac Purdoe, ^ . 

Joseph Bell, .213 Ashbell Web, -133 = $I3-35S-" 

At the rate Master Burgin taught in that district ten years before, 
viz. : " $5 per month and board around," this sum would not fur- 
nish quite three months of school, whereas Burgin taught six months 
in 1787. If the schools kept open six months or more in the year 
the patrons of them must have found it necessary to raise consider- 
able funds over and above the school tax. 

The first provincial and county tax collected in Lancaster, of 
which we have any knowledge, was collected on a warrant issued 
Dec. 22, 1773, for the amounts of: Province tax, one pound, two 
shillings, and one pound county tax, lawful money. These taxes 



.695 

.212 


Joseph Brackett, $ 
Phineas Hodsdon, 


993 


.107 


William Moore, 


358 


.249 
.742 


John Mclntire, 
Waiter Philbrook, 


752 
194 


•593 
•332 


William Ayres, 

Nath'l White, 3 


394 
12 


.000 


Mathew White, 


107 


•173 
.147 


Jeremiah Wilcox, 
William Ewen, 


250 
127 


.269 
•213 


Elijah Laton, 
Ashbell Web, 

Honrrl-if I'n f li a f rli'cfi-irf ff 


109 
133 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 47 

the town continued to pay with promptness until about 1787, when 
it was thought that the tax bills the town received from the govern- 
ment were out of proportion to the advantages they received from 
the province, and accordingly they remonstrated with the general 
■court in the form of a petition they made also the medium of a 
request for help in building roads and bridges to connect the new 
town with the outside world, especially with the seaports, where 
they must purchase their supplies and find a market for their furs 
and salts of lye, which were about the only articles of trade pro- 
duced in the settlement up to this time. They were willing to pay 
tax on the principle that taxes should help and not hinder the 
growth of a community, and they frankly told the government so. 
It may seem to us a small matter for the town to pay a few pounds 
a year in taxes, and even cause us to wonder if they did strain a 
point in their objections to the burden it imposed upon them. We 
must not forget that the general court made provisions to assist the 
outlying towns to build roads, but Lancaster had never received a 
cent to help it. The people here were left to their own resour- 
ces; but after a time they literally hewed their way through miles 
of dense forests, and had bridged, in a primitive way, it is true, 
some of the smaller streams, before the state came to their aid at all. 
The first relief they got was in the privilege to tax themselves, and 
recoup themselves from the persons who should afterward occupy 
the lands through which the roads were built. A little later the 
government adopted the policy of granting the public lands freely in 
return for the building of roads. That method led to an unjust 
scramble, in which much of the most valuable lands were given for 
very poorly constructed roads. This w^as not the relief to Lancaster 
and the other towns north of it that it was supposed it would be. 
The roads so built were generally out of repair in a short time 
because poorly built, and no provisions were made to keep them in 
repair. There is, then, little wonder that the poor settlers felt that 
they were unduly burdened by what may seem to us a small tax 
bill. They were getting nothing for it, at most not an adequate and 
just return of state aid in a task that is now no longer regarded as a 
local matter. 

All these experiences tended to develop a spirit of self-reliance 
and independence in the citizens of the town. 

Lancaster, for purposes of representation in the New Hampshire 
congress and house of representatives, was classed with other 
towns until 1817, when its population was large enough to entitle it 
to its own representative. In 1775 the town was represented by 
Capt. Abijah Larned of Cockburn (now Columbia), who was elected 
by "Apthorp, Lancaster, Northumberland, Stratford, Cockburn, 
Colburn, Conway, Shelburne, and other towns above." The journal 



48 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

of the house docs not show that Captain Larned, though a good man 
and warm friend of the upper towns, did anything to further their 
interests. During the three following years the same class of towns 
were represented by Col. Joseph Whipple of Dartmouth (now Jef- 
ferson). He was a man of means, well known in the older towns of 
the province, and fully interested in the development of these new 
towns, as he had become a large landholder in Dartmouth. He 
secured legislation favorable to the towns in his class ; and at sub- 
sequent sessions, for he served as representative five years in all. he 
secured assistance in the construction of the road through the White 
Mountain Notch, which was one of the greatest benefits to Lancas- 
ter and neighboring towns for many years. 

It was not until 1793, however, that a Lancaster man was elected 
to the general court. In that year Jonas Wilder, Jr., was elected to 
represent Lancaster, Littleton, Dartmouth, and Dalton. As the class 
of towns became smaller it gave the representative a greater chance 
to promote the interest of his own town. In 1796, Col. Richard C. 
Everett, the first lawyer to settle in the practice of his profession in 
Lancaster was elected to represent the same class of towns. The 
town found in him an able servant, one entirely in sympathy with, 
and fully interested in, the prosperity of the town, for he was already 
engaged in various enterprises here beside his profession. He was 
a man of considerable means, a recent graduate from Dartmouth 
college, and of an active and pleasing manner. The records of the 
house show that he labored faithfully to bring his town into the 
favorable notice of the state. He did much to convince the repre- 
sentatives of the older towns in the southern portions of the state 
that Lancaster was a town with a future and destiny that its inhabi- 
tants could well feel proud of. The time had not come, however, 
for Lancaster to ask and receive the recognition she deserved. For 
the whole period of the Revolutionary War, the people of all sec- 
tions had learned to make sacrifices of their own interests for the 
common good and safety, await the coming of a time of safety and 
prosperity in which to take up their own interests and problems for 
adjustment in the forum of politics. The only politics they had 
known and practised during that period and trial of their strength 
against one of the strongest nations in all the world, was patriotism, 
a patriotism in which self-interest sunk out of sight in the common 
effort to promote only the general interests of the whole country. 

Beginning in 1790, and continuing until 1803, there was a deter- 
mined effort to induce the general court to erect a new count}' out 
of these northern towns, and to include Conway beyond the White 
Mountains on the east. In 1790 the selectmen of Lancaster and 
Northumberland drew up and signed a petition to the general 
court, which convened that year in Concord, praying that these 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 



49 



northern towns, with Conway, be set off into a new county by the 
name of Coos. In that petition they say : 

"That our located situation in the northern part of the state is such, that it 
will be particularly beneficial for us, to have Conway and adjacent towns annexed 
to us, in the formation of the northerly county in said state, not only on account 
of the occupancy and improvement of our most advantageous road to seaport, but 
in order to promote Emigration, and agriculture in this fertile and healthy teri- 
tory ; the promotion of which we humbly conceive will be of publick utiHty and 
the state to which we owe our allegiance, will receive emolument in proportion to 
the opulency of this part of the state." 

This petition failed to influence the legislature to take favorable 
action for the relief of the petitioners although signed by the select- 
men of the two towns named above. Edwards Bucknam, Emmons 
Stockwell, and Francis Willson signed it on the part of Lancaster, 
and Joseph Peverly and Jeremiah Eames signed as selectmen of 
Northumberland, and Elijah Hinman and James Brown signed as 
selectmen for Stratford. 

The failure did not discourage the resolute people, for we find 
them sending up another petition from Lancaster the next year 
signed by forty-seven men, who probably comprised the leading 
taxpayers of the town at the time. That petition is so character- 
istic of the people of the Lancaster of that day that I cannot pass it 
by, but insert it in full : 

Petition for a New County. 

" To the Honorable the General Court of the State of New Hampshire 

The Petition of the Inhabitants of Lancaster in the County of Grafton, Humbly 
Sheweth, 

That Your Petitioners live at the distance of near sixty miles from the nearest 
shire Town in this County, 

That a very considerable part of the Inhabitants of this part of the County live 
above us and are under similar disadvantages with us, 

That the Roads to Haverhill our nearest shire Town are exceeding bad and at 
some seasons of the year unpassable. 

Wherefore we your petitioners pray that we may be seperated from said County 
of Grafton and made a new County by a line drawn from Connecticut River 
between the Towns of Concord alias Gunthwait and Littleton and on Eastward 
taking in the Towns of Conway Eaton &c to the Province line so called and we as 
in duty bound shall ever pray Lancaster Novr. 22nd, 1791. 



Edwards Bucknam, 
William Bruce, 
Stephen Wilson, 
Jeremiah Wilcox, 
Emmons Stockwell, 
Robert Gotham, 
Francis Willson 
Joseph Bruce 
Jonas Wilder Jr. 
Asaph Darby 



John Weeks, 
John Hartwell, 
Nathaniel Lovewell, 
Joseph Wilder, 
Samuel Johnson, 
Dennis Stanley, 
Isaac Darby 
Phinenas Bruce 
Elisha Wilder 
John Rosebrook 



Bradford Sanderson. 
Zadoc Samson. 
Jonathan Ros, 
Daniel How, 
David Stockwell, 
Daniel Chany, 
John Wilder 
Jonas Wilder 
Mannassah Wilder 
Charles Rosebrook 



50 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Jonas Baker Ezra Reves David Page 

Jonathan Cram Benj. Twombly James Twombly 

Edward Spaulding Walter Philbrook Coffin Moore 

Wm. Moore Moses Page Phiehas Hodgdon 

Joseph Brackett John Macintire William Johnson" 

Ephraim Wilder Abijah Darby. 

[12 Hammond's Town Papers, 358-359]. 

All these petitions failed, at the time, to secure this much- 
desired object ; and yet the people of these northern towns never 
despaired of some day getting a county formed of this territory 
that laid so far from the shire town where all their court business 
must be transacted, which at the time was growing to be consid- 
erable, especially in the probate business, as lands were being 
transferred, and estates settled with increasing frequency owing to 
the considerable increase in population due in a measure to the 
increasing value of their lands after the war, and the remarkable 
prosperity that began to crown the efforts of the pioneers' descen- 
dants of the first generation after the settlement of the rich " Upper 
Coos Country." Then, too, the same causes operating in other 
portions of Grafton county as they did here began to crowd the 
courts and county offices with a mass of business that made it 
necessary to reduce by some means. The people in the northern 
end of that vast county could see no way to lessen their burdens 
and expenses but by the creation of a separate county that should 
bring their own part of that business home. Every argument 
against the project for a new county of the "Upper Coos" was 
easily met by a recital of the inconveniences to which the people 
were put by being compelled to travel some sixty miles over the 
worst roads in the country to get a deed or other legal paper 
recorded, or to attend courts, which were sometimes so over- 
crowded with business as to compel persons attending upon them 
to remain away from home at unusual expenses a longer time than 
seemed necessary to transact their business. Indeed it seems the 
most reasonable solution of the problem that could have been 
suggested that a new county be erected out of the large territory 
lying about several considerable villages like Lancaster, Littleton, 
Northumberland, and Colebrook. 

There can be but little doubt that Richard Claire Everett, Lan- 
caster's rising young lawyer, had a great influence in determining 
the general court to yield to the people's wishes and grant the 
formation of the prayed-for new county of Coos. At any rate, 
Lancaster probably was the greatest influence in bringing about the 
formation of the county; and once formed, as it was in 1803, Lan- 
caster was the proper place to locate its courts. It was later found 
necessary to make Colebrook a shire town with its court sessions for 
the better accommodation of the citizens of the county. 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN. 5 1 

Lancaster has always held a prominent place in the government 
of the state since 1796, when she sent R. C. Everett as her rep- 
resentative to the general court. Since then the town has always 
been honored by the election of some of her citizens to honorable 
positions in the state government. Some of the highest offices 
in the gift of the state have been accorded to citizens of Lancaster, 
and many of the most responsible positions of trust have been filled 
by her citizens without an instance of disloyalty or abuse of a public 
trust. Mistaken her citizens have sometimes been, but in purpose 
they have been always among the most loyal of the citizenship 
of the state, patriotic and trustworthy. 

The people of the town have never favored severe and coer- 
cionary measures. Even in the earliest days they did not go as 
far as many other towns in carrying into effect the inherited Puri- 
tanical notions of the more strict among their number. As we have 
shown, with respect to various public actions, they were capable 
of originality in the conduct of their town affairs ; but they did not 
hold a usage or convention of practice so rigidly that they could 
not change it upon finding what to them seemed a better way of 
doing the business of the community. 

Like all towns of that day Lancaster elected tithingmen for some 
years ; but it does not seem that it was an office much called for, or 
that ever did any good in the town. The only recorded action of 
that functionary, tithingman, is the following complaint against 
some persons for traveling on the Sabbath : 

"Lancaster, ist Aug. 1792. 
" To Edwards Bucknam Esqr., one of the Justices of the Peace for the County of 
Grafton in the State of New Hampshire cometh the subscriber and com- 
plaineth of William Rosebrook & Samuel Howe Esq. and wife who did on 

the Eighth day of July last being Lord's Day Travel . Also 

Henderson on the twenty-second of sd. July did travel (it being Lord's Day) 
all said conduct being in open violation of the Law and against the Peace 
and Dignity of State, therefore in my capacity pray your worshij) that 
warrant may issue and the above said persons be delt with as the Law 
Directs. 

Elisha Wilder, Tithingman. 
(L. S.)." 

His " worship," Justice Bucknam, issued the following warrant, 
and upon the back of it is recorded its service ; but the docket 
of Bucknam does not show that they were " delt with as the law 
directs." The reader's attention is called to the clauses in the 
warrant following the formal " as the law directs," viz. : " and yics- 
tice may appertaind." 

Bucknam's warrant was as follows : 



52 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

" State of New Hampshire To the Sheriff of the County of Grafton, His 

Grafton SS. under sheriff of deputy or to eitlier of the Con- 

stables of the Town of Lancaster 

Greeting : 

"Complaint being made as above In the name of the State of New 

Hampshire you are hereby commanded to apprehend the above named Per- 
sons, if to be found in your Precinct and him or them safely so that you 
have them before me Edwards Bucknam Esq. one of the Justices of the 
Peace for said County, or some other Justice in said County so that he or 
they may be Examined Touching the Premises and Delt with as the Law 
& Justice appertain. Fail not but make due Return of this Writ with your 
Doings thereon. 

Dated at Lancaster this 20th. Day of August A. D. 1792, 

Edwards Bucknam, Just. Peace." 

On the back of this warrant we find the following entry of 
service : 

" State of New Hampshire 
Grafton SS. 

Pursuant to the within precept I have taken the Body of William Rose- 
brook and him delivered to the within Magistrate, Edwards Bucknam. Esq. 
Lancaster August 27th, 1792. 

Wm. Moore, Constable, Lancaster. 
Fees, travel ish. 6d. 
service i " 4"." 

What disposition was ever made of the case, and whether the 
other persons mentioned in the warrant were ever taken does not 
appear from any documents now in existence. Perhaps the Court 
Records would have shown the disposition of the case, for hav- 
ing been delivered to the justice of the peace the prisoner cer- 
tainly had a trial. Although General Bucknam believed in law 
and order as well as the tithingman, yet we may infer that as the 
case did not excite much attention, and as there seem to have been 
no others that ever got upon his docket, that under the announced 
purpose to try the defendants according to justice, that justice 
decreed that he should be discharged. 

The tithingman, " Deacon Wilder," as he was called, was an 
austere man in religion and politics, though in other respects a 
a very worthy sort of man. He talked a great deal about what he 
called "a sane religion." Just what that meant no one ever knew, 
except that everything he did believe was sane, and what he did 
not believe was opposed to his "sane religion." He was equal!}- 
narrow and intolerant in politics. He believed in John Adams and 
Alexander Hamilton implicitly. He declared that if "Jefferson was 
elected president of the United States that all our bibles would be 
burned and our churches turned into horse-stables; and our sons 
be given up to fight the battles of Napoleon Bonaparte." 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 53 

A man of short-sightedness, and narrowness of thought, and utter 
lack of confidence in men and measures with which he did not 
agree was likely to take a false view of the conduct of men when it 
did not correspond with his standards of usage. His opposition 
seems rather to have been to the different way of conducting one's 
self on Sunday than against the moral of the fact of traveling on 
that day. 

So far as we can learn that was the only instance of any effort 
being made to enforce the old Sunday laws against traveling. 

With but few exceptions the men of the Lancaster of one hun- 
dred years ago were too sensible and practical to go back to the 
old Puritanical laws of the province when under the domination 
of Massachusetts. There was here no opposition to religion or the 
church ; and if men took a mild view of their conduct on Sunday, 
it was from necessity of going contrary to established usages rather 
than an evidence of contempt for them. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ROADS AND BRIDGES. 

Roads to the Cobs Country — Road from Haverhill to Lancaster — Road 
FROM Lancaster to Portland Through the White Mountain Notch 

Roads to Adjacent Towns — Roads and Bridges within the 

Bounds of Lancaster — Surveyors of Roads — Systems of Repairing 
Roads — Keeping Roads Open During Winter. 

As early as November 29, 1752, the Provincial Assembly made 
an appropriation of money to cut a road to " Cohos," which, of 
course, meant the " Lower Cohos," or Haverhill. This road was 
probably "cut" as a mere bridle-path from Portsmouth to " Cohos." 
It does not seem that it was a very good road, for as late as 1774 
Col. John Kurd petitioned the governor to have it " improved and 
made safe." This was the first attempt at road-making to open up 
the " Cohos Country" and make it accessible to the would-be eager 
settlers. That accomplished, still left Lancaster over fifty miles from 
the nearest road up to 1770, and that not safe. Haverhill was 
reached from No. 4 (Charleston) on the ice on the Connecticut 
river for all heavy freight until a much later date, as was also Lan- 
caster. 

There is a tradition that Emmons Stockwell and David Page, Jr., 
cut a road from Haverhill in the fall of 1763 on their way to locate 
in Lancaster; but we must remember that the term road meant, in 
those pioneer days, a bridle-path rather than what we would now' 



54 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

call a road. It is probable that these two young men cut a mere 
bridle-path, one that could be followed by their friends in the follow- 
ing April. Even that was a big undertaking. 

It does not appear that David Page brought with him any kind 
of vehicles when he " drove up twenty head of cattle, and some 
horses, with other useful articles," in 1764; and when his daughter 
Ruth came that year it was on horseback. 

On December 17, 1763, the assembly passed an act to open a 
road from Durham to Cohos [Prov. Papers 6, p. 885]. This action 
of the assembly indicates a general interest to open up a highway to 
this section ; but the difficulties in the way of these projects were 
great, and even this action amounted to nothing at the time. 
Haverhill had been settled, and other grants of towns had been 
made beyond it, Colebrook, 1710, and Stonington (on territory now 
held by Lancaster), 1761. It was urged upon the authorities by 
the grantees of these towns that they should have roads built at 
public expense, or at least that they be given authority to build the 
roads at the expense of the holders of lands through which they 
should pass. 

The assembly acted on a petition from William Moulton and 
James Paul for themselves and the inhabitants of Stonington for a 
road from " Great Cohoss to Moultonborough," October 26, 1768. 
This petition had no doubt been encouraged by the passage of an 
act by the assembly, January 4, 1765, for building roads to Coos, 
which received the governor's signature. 

In the early spring of 1768, David Page and others petitioned 
the assembly for a road to "Upper Coos." The petition was read 
in the house February 1 1 , 1 768 ; and again acted upon February 
18. [Prov. Papers, 7, pp. 58, 151, 152, 195, 266, 268, 313.] 

All these efforts seem to have been in the interest of a road along 
the Connecticut river, to connect with Portsmouth, No. 4, and Bos- 
ton. Any road from that direction would have to pass through 
long stretches of unsettled country, held chiefly by non-resident 
landholders, who were not willing to contribute to the building of 
roads. 

The settlers of Lancaster began to look for an outlet in another 
direction. At the first meeting of the proprietors, March 10, 1767, 
it was voted " that David Page, Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Buck- 
nam, Timothy Nash, and David Page, Jr., be a committee to look 
out and mark a road to Pigwakett (now Conway), or to the Andris- 
cogin, or to the first inhabitants, and also to the Lower Coos." 

This proposed road through the White Mountains to Portland 
promised a shorter outlet for communication with a good market 
than the one down the river, which the proprietors made a sort of 
alternation, or second choice of roads. Communication with the 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 55 

markets of the country must be had ; and this road was built as far 
as Pigwakett or '• the nearest inhabitants," which might have meant 
for them a shorter distance than Pigwakett, as the settlements on 
that side of the mountains were passing up toward the " Notch " 
through which it was known an Indian trail had long existed. Port- 
land was then a small town, but it was a seaport from which the 
settlers could get the articles of commerce needed by them, and 
where their products would find sale. 

This undertaking certainly was never carried into effect, for the 
Indian trail through the Notch was not discovered by Timothy 
Nash until the winter of 1771, when by the mere accident of track- 
ing a moose up one of the ravines he chanced to gain the first sight 
of the famous Notch. The ice on the Connecticut river furnished a 
good highway in winter, although there were some elements of risk 
and danger in that sort of road. The unwary traveler sometimes 
happened to drive upon weak spots in the ice and break through 
into the water. It is said that Emmons Stockwell on one occasion, 
while riding down the river on the ice, with a heavy roll of furs on 
his horse, broke through and narrowly escaped drowning for him- 
self, losing his horse and his load of furs, worth a large sum. 

Year after year went by carrying down one after another of the 
projects for better roads, with the river as the best highway. In 
winter the ice made it a fairly good road ; and in summer the canoe 
was called into. use. For more than twenty years all the settlers 
above Haverhill had but little better roads than the savage Indians 
had used for centuries. They felt this disadvantage very keenly, 
and were accustomed to attribute all their failures in the develop- 
ment of the towns to the lack of roads, or the bad conditions of the 
ones they had been able to open in a very feeble way. 

The prosperity of the new and remote towns was certainly less 
than it would have been if they had been provided with good roads. 
With little more than trails and bridle-paths to these remote sec- 
tions it was difficult to induce new settlers of the more desirable class 
to come here. Not only was it very difificult to reach these towns, 
but when they had produced something to barter for the common 
necessities of frontier life it was well-nigh impossible to get it to a 
market during two thirds of the year. To await the freezing of the 
river, meant increased inconvenience, if not, indeed, actual suffering. 

At the end of the first five years of the settlement of the town 
the proprietors were forced to ask for a renewal of the charter, be- 
cause they had not been able on account of bad roads to induce 
enough actual settlers to meet the conditions of the grant. 

Even as late as 1787, when the tax bill was sent for collection the 
people felt justified in remonstrating with the general court against 
what they regarded as a burdensome amount, in which they alleged 



56 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

as a reason of the lack of prosperity "the badness of the roads." 
They appointed a committee to lay their grievances before the gen- 
eral court. That committee consisted of Jonas Wilder, Edwards 
Bucknam, and Emmons Stockwell. Under date of September 4th, 
1787, they drew up a respectful and strong petition which was pre- 
sented to the general court on the second Wednesday of Septem- 
ber, 1787. It reads as follows: 

" To the Honourable, the Senate and the Hon^'''^ House of Representatives in 
General Assembly convened on the second Wednesday in September A. D. 
1787— 

"The Petition of the Town of Lancaster in the County of Grafton, humbly 
Shevveth — 

"That the inhabitants of said Town labour under many and great inconveni- 
ences, and without that succor and relief which Every infant Country expects from 
the Government to which she owes her allegiance, they must remain in but very 
indignant circumstances ; and the State not receive that Emolument, that it might 
justly expect from a Country so fertile as this, when properly peopled. Nothing 
more effectually hinders the emigration of inhabitants to this part of the State, 
than the badness of our roads, and the want of a convenient place to worship that 
being, to whom all owe their existence. The formation of the town is very pecu- 
liar, on account of marshes, creeks and large streams and the number of inhabi- 
tants being very small; consequently the expense of making and mending roads, 
building bridges, meeting house &c must be very great — One large stream known 
by the name of Isreals river, is so formidable where it must be dridged, to accom- 
idate the travel up and down Connecticut river and likewise the travel to and from 
Portsmouth (our most advantagious port) that it must cost, at a moderate com- 
putation, two hundred pounds. The inhabitants have solicited the non-resident 
landowners for assistance (many of whom live out of the State) but they have 
entirely refused — 

"Your petitioners are, therefore, necessitated to pray your honors to pass an 
Act empowering the selectmen of said Lancaster to levey and collect, a tax of 
three pence on each acre of land (Public Rights excepted) for the purpose of mak- 
ing roads, building bidges meeting House &c. &c, and a continuation of one 
peney on the acre, annually for the term of five years, to be appropriated to the 
aforesaid purposes " [State Papers, ii^pp. 178, 182, 188, 339.] • 

This petition was granted and an act was at once passed author- 
izing the selectmen to levy and collect a tax that proved a great 
boon to the town, for within three years one hundred people came 
to Lancaster, and among whom were many men that proved to be 
of great service to the new community. 

The sum derived from this tax was large enough to enable the 
town to begin, and carry out for five years, a systematic effort at 
opening new roads and putting existing roads in better repair. 

At the town-meeting, March ii, 1788, "seven pounds and ten 
shillings were voted to Major Whipple for carrying through the 
land tax at the General Court." 

Lancaster was not represented in the general court that year, 
consequently had to employ Major Whipple to lobby its measure 
for it. This law proved to be of very great value to the town, as it. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 57 

at once, began building and repairing its roads, making them pass- 
able and safe. From 1769, the office of road surveyor had existed, 
and was filled by the election of such men as David Page, Edwards 
Bucknam, and Dennis Stanley. The annual town-meeting, March 
9, 1773. "voted sixty-eight shillings for repair of roads." A poll- 
rate of six shillings was voted as a road tax, and an allowance of 
four shillings a day for each man in work on the roads. 

In 1784, ten pounds were appropriated for the repair of roads. 
The next year twenty bushels of wheat were voted to be spent in 
keeping the roads open. At the annual town-meeting, February 
27, 1787, twelve pounds was voted for roads. 

These sums were as large as the " land tax " yielded, but the 
latter fell with equal weight upon the non-residents, while the actual 
settlers were on the spot to work out the taxes to their advantage. 

Having entered into their new schemes for better roads, the 
settlers of Lancaster, and other towns above it, found themselves 
badly handicapped by the refusal of the non-resident owners of 
the lands in Dalton and Littleton, through which they must pass 
to reach the older settlements, to assist in making roads through 
those towns. Having several times failed to induce the cooperation 
of these landholders to do what seemed their plain duty in the 
matter of making roads these upper towns joined in a petition 
to the general court for the passage of some measure of relief. 
Accordingly on May 10, 1788, the towns of Lancaster, Northum- 
berland (formerly Stonington), Stratford, and Percy (now Stark) 
united in this petition to the general court: 

"To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives: — The Inhabi- 
tants of A Place called Upper Coos that they began settlement at that Place now 
more than twenty-three years ago and Ever Since have continued their Settle- 
ment through many Dificulties Especially on account of the badness of the Roads 
through Littleton and Dalton which have never been properly cleared nor bridged 
by which means wagons or Sleighs pass with the greatest Danger and never more 
than half a Load which subjects the inhabitants of said Coos to very Large 
Expence in transporting necessary foreign articles and others in Removing with 
their families and effects from Connecticut Massachusetts and the Easterly part of 
New Hampshire is the same Dificulties which very much Impedes & Hinders the 
Setelment of the towns on Connecticut River &c., Lying above said Littleton at 
Dalton. Your Petitioners beg Leave to farther Suggest that the Townships of 
Littleton and Dalton being owned by only a few Gentelmen and the Towns not 
vested with Power nor the Inhabitants with ability to Lay out and clear bridge 
and make Passible said Road through which Your Petitioners must Pass on any 
Business belonging to the Probate, or County matter, wherefore your Petitioners 
Pray your Honors to take their case into your Wise Consideration and order that 
the Road be made Passable and kept in good Repair through said Towns of 
Littleton & Dalton to the acceptance of a Committee to be appointed for that 
Purpose or by some other way as Your Honors Shall see fit and Your Petitioners- 
will Ever Pray." 2 Hammond's Towns Papers, 354-355 ! 21 State Papers, 467. 



58 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

This petition was signed on the part of Lancaster by a com- 
mittee consisting of Jonas Wilder, Amasa Grant, Jonas Baker, 
Joseph Brackett, Edwards Bucknam, Phineas Hodgdon, Francis 
Willson, John Weeks, Abijah Darby, Walter Philbrook, Samuel 
Johnson, Hopestill Jennison, David Page, Emmons Stockwell, 
Ephraim Griggs, William Johnson, and Jonathan Hartwell. An 
equal array of names from the other towns adorns this forcible 
petition. 

Just what disposition the legislature made of this petition is not 
certain ; but I have before me the bills and receipts showing that 
during the next few years much work was done on the roads here 
referred to. The taxes prayed for in these several petitions were 
authorized and laid. Much difficulty was experienced in collecting 
them, however ; and resort had to be had to the advertisement of 
the lands of non-residents. The taxes of nearly twenty years before 
by the action of the proprietors' meetings for making roads, build- 
ing bridges, and rebuilding David Page's mill that was burnt, which 
fell most heavily on non-residents, had been very hard to collect, 
and even now, after the civil organization of the town, it was no 
easy matter to levy and collect taxes on the lands of non-residents, 
although sanctioned by act of legislature. In the petitions of 
1792 and 1793 the petitioners for a special tax on all private lands 
requested the legislature to appoint a committee to disburse them 
in the building of such roads and bridges that it should be found 
advisable to undertake for the relief of these distant towns. This 
feature was a necessary one, too, from another consideration : As 
the proposed road was to have passed through the territory of other 
towns, it would be necessary for the state to control an undertaking 
of the kind. These new towns were jealous of their rights, and 
respected one another's rights though free to criticise, and often to 
condemn the selfishness of their neighbors in not doing what seemed 
their duties in the development of the larger civil unit — the state. 

What effect these petitions had upon the legislature is a matter of 
conjecture rather than history, as the records do not show a final 
disposition of them. From the fact that the citizens of Lancaster 
petitioned the legislature in 1793 for the right to levy and collect a 
tax of one penny a year for three years on every acre of land in the 
town, to build and repair their own roads and bridges, and assist in 
opening up a road through Whitefieid to Plymouth, it would seem 
that their petitions must have met with some discouragements. 
This next petition was an important movement on the part of Lan- 
caster, in that it was a request on the legislature to allow them to 
assume a burden, and such it was, that the state was either unable 
or unwilling to assume. It was not so polished and clear in style as 
some other petitions that Lancaster has sent to the general court. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 59 

but it pressed an urgent demand for relief from a condition of affairs 
that was retarding the development of the town. It set forth, 

" That the said town of Lancaster is such that the public Road leading through 
said town on Connecticutt River is upwards of ten Miles in Length and is 
attended with many Creeks, vales, and .Streams that leads into said River, where 
Bridges and Casways are needed to be built, and the Road leading through said 
town up Isreals River towards Conway is attended with the like Impediments 
and that one other Road is much wanted to be opened through the Center 
of said town from Connecticutt River leading a Corse through said town and 
Whitefield and on to Thornton and Plymouth which road if opened would shorten 
the Distance from Lancaster to Plymouth about thirty miles which road will in all 

probability be opened in said town the ensuing year The Inhabitants of said 

town being but small in Numbers, having the season past erected a large Meeting 
house and are loaded with great expense for the same, their Roads &c ; the major 
part of the Proprietors and land owners of said town live at New York and out of 
this State and are unwilling to assist the inhabitants of said town in their Bur- 
thensome matters altho, — they are as much benefitted thereby in the Rise of 
their lands as the Inhabitants of said Town Therefore Your Petitioners pray 
Yours Honors would make a Grant of three pence on Each and Every acre 
of land in said Town viz. one penny each year the three next Succeeding 
Years and appoint a Committee to ley and Collect the same and apply it in Open- 
ing the New and Repairing the other Roads and Bridges in said Town. 

Edwards Bucknam ^ ^^^^^j^^^^ ^^ ^^^^j^ 

Emmons Stockwell S ^f Lancaster. 
Jonas Baker j 

December ye 21 st. 1793."* 

I find by reference to the town records that at a legal meeting of 
the town, November 22, 1793, Col. Edwards Bucknam, Capt. John 
Weeks, and Jonas Baker were appointed a committee to draw up 
this petition; and Bucknam, Stockwell, and Baker were appointed a 
committee to sign it on behalf of the town. Also, that Col. 
Edwards Bucknam was voted the town's agent in the matter of the 
presentation of the petition. This formal, " legal" action no doubt 
seemed necessary on account of the failure of the petition of 1792, 
which was signed by the twenty-eight following citizens: 

Fortunatus Eager, John Rosebrook, Jun., Charles Rosebrook, 
Jonas Wilder, William Bruce, Titus O. Brown, Jonathan Cram, John 
Holms, Elisha Wilder, Phineas Bruce, John Rosebrook, Emmons 
Stockwell, Joseph Wilder, Asahel Bigelow, Nathan Lovewell, Benja- 
min Orr, David Stockwell, Moses Page, Dennis Stanley, William 
Moore, David Page, Abijah Darby, Joseph Brackett, Walter Phil- 
brook, Jonas Baker, Edward Spaulding, William Johnson, Cofifin 
Moore. 

This measure seems to have been as fruitless of good results as pre- 
ceding ones to get the road to Haverhill put into passable and safe 
condition. It was very natural that the inhabitants of Lancaster 

* 12 Hammond's Town Papers, 360-361. 



6o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

should prefer a good road to Portsmouth, and the lower towns 
through Haverhill. Their old homes and early association were in 
that direction. They had come hither over paths leading through 
that territory. This town was in Grafton county with the public 
ofhces and courts located at Haverhill. All their legal business had 
to be transacted there. There were, for a considerable length of time, 
no magistrates in Lancaster ; neither were there any lawyers located 
here to attend to their legal business or give council during the first 
thirty years after the settlement of the town. Edwards Bucknam, 
universal genius that he was, was the first justice of the peace in 
Lancaster. He received his appointment to that ofhce about 1792. 

These inconveniences harassed the people for many years, driving 
them at last to seek relief in the division of Grafton county and the 
formation of a new county by the name of Coos, alleging always as 
one of the chief reasons for such action the bad roads and the incon- 
venience of traveling over them for all their legal business which 
increased with the growth of population. 

Meanwhile the road to Pigwaket had been constructed, and the 
tide of emigration from the sea-board towns began to fiow through 
the White Mountain Notch. As early as 1773, Nash and Sawyer's 
location was granted for building roads through that tract of land. 
Col. Joseph Whipple and Samuel Hart of Portsmoiith settled in Jef- 
ferson, then called Dartmouth, about 1773. From that time on, the 
Notch road was steadily improved. In 1786, the legislature was 
petitioned to appoint a committee to sell land about the mountains, 
and use the money thus raised to repair the road through the Notch. 
That petition set forth that the road was badly out of repair from the 
effect of a recent freshet. Such a committee was appointed, and did 
sell large tracts of land from time to time, and expended the revenue 
thus raised in repairing this important road. That committee was 
in active existence for a period of ten years, when it settled accounts 
and got discharged. The committee and its friends got most of the 
lands and the public a very poor road. 

Tradition says that the first article brought through this Notch 
road to Lancaster was a hogshead of rum; and that the first article 
shipped from Lancaster through the Notch was a quantity of tobacco 
raised by Titus O. Brown, then a farmer on Great brook, and later a 
merchant or trader in the village. That was in the fall of 1773. 
This road continued to be Lancaster's best road to market until the 
coming of the railroads so near as to open up other outlets. In 
1803, a charter for a turnpike through the Notch was granted by the 
legislature and at once built. This gave a good road through the 
section hitherto so difficult to keep in repair. Soon after the build- 
ing of this turnpike, one was built through Jefferson to connect with 
it at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. It began at the point where 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 6 1 

the Whitefield road branches from the Jefferson road near the home 
of the late Edward Howe, and ran southeasterly by the Whipple 
place over a spur of Cherry mountain to the Rosebrook place. It 
was a \vell-built road, and gave Lancaster an easy passage of the 
mountain section to Portland. After the great freshet of August, 
1826, which completely destroyed some sections of the turnpike 
through the Notch, its proprietors abandoned it, and the Jefferson 
turnpike soon fell into ruin and was abandoned. 

The building of a turnpike on the line of the old " Cohos road" 
from Plymouth to Haverhill in 1808, together with the advent of the 
stage coach soon after that event, did much to awaken the interest of 
Lancaster people in the old roads south. Meanwhile the towns of 
Dalton, Whitefield, Littleton, Lyman, and Bath to the .south were 
being settled rapidly and a local interest in good roads coming to 
exist in so many sections along the old trail over which the first set- 
tlers came, that it began to be improved all along the line. 

Concord was then becoming a place of considerable importance. 
It had become the permanent capital of the state, besides having 
been favored by the sitting there of thirty-two of the sixty-one ses- 
sions of the legislature prior to 1808, when it became the permanent 
capital of the state. Lancaster, before that time, had become one 
of the most important communities of northern New Hampshire. 
Its citizens took an active interest in political matters, and had busi- 
ness of importance in the higher courts, which drew them to the 
capital. The settlement of the towns north of Lancaster, and the 
«arly development of the lumber and dairy interests in addition to 
the considerable agricultural and mercantile interests that existed, 
required good roads and rapid communication with the larger 
centres of trade and industry. 

It will thus be seen that not the actual necessity and resolute de- 
termination of the early settlers, but later and more remote causes 
led to the development of the roads. Neither the state nor the town 
could afford to build good roads in the earliest period of the history 
of the town. As we have seen, generous sums were appropriated 
by the town for roads ; but the largest expenditure they could afford 
to make would not go far in making, or even mending, roads. It 
took a period of more than two generations to reach a point at 
which road-making could be put on anything approaching a 
scientific basis. So desirable an end has not yet been reached, 
but is one of the possible things in the near future now that the 
town owns modern, improved road machinery. 

As settlements were made on the Vermont side of the river soon 
after Lancaster was settled there soon came the demand for some 
means of crossing the river. To build bridges was out of the 
question, so ferries were provided. About 1790 some interest was 



62 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

manifested in ferries, and the legislature was applied to for charters 
for them. In 1792 there were three of them chartered and in 
operation within the limits of the town. Uriel Rosebrook had the 
first one, located at the south line of the Dennis Stanley farm, now 
owned by Capt. A. M. Beattie. Just how long he operated it, and 
how profitable it was we do not know, but it may be inferred that it 
paid a good return, for very soon Rosebrook had competition in 
the business. John Weeks procured a charter for a ferry, and con- 
ducted one about thirty rods above Union bridge at South Lan- 
caster. Neither history nor tradition can enlighten us very much 
upon the success or period of duration of this ferry. About the 
time these two ferries were started a movement was set on foot to 
take out a charter for one to be owned by the town. A petition to 
that effect was laid before the legislature praying for a charter in 
the name of the town but the legislature refused to grant one. 
Whether opposed to towns holding such franchises or the indi- 
viduals owning the other ferries, convinced that body that no need 
existed for another competitor is not known. The journal of the 
house shows that the petition was seriously considered several times 
before a committee and reported unfavorably to that body. 

About the time this charter was refused the legislature granted 
one to Maj. Jonas Wilder. He located his ferry on his own farm, 
now known as the Holton farm. This ferry existed for a period 
of some ten years, and was in operation when the Lancaster Bridge 
company was formed in 1804. Although Major Wilder was an 
enterprising, public-spirited man, we do not find his name, nor that 
of John Weeks, on the list of original stockholders in that remark- 
able enterprise. Uriel Rosebrook, whose ferry was already declin- 
ing in its earning power, took one share of stock in the Bridge 
company. The distance of Weeks's ferry from the bridge, and the 
fact that at that time the Bucknam neighborhood was almost as 
populous and important as that where the Pages and Stockwells 
lived, may have enabled that ferry to continue doing a good busi- 
ness for some years later than its rivals. 

The earliest setUers for many years forded Isreals river in summer 
and crossed it on the ice in winter. The place where the new iron 
bridge now crosses it on Main street was known as " the fording- 
place," and is so referred to in very early documents. After a time, 
but just when we do not know, Emmons Stockwell built a bridge at 
this old " fording-place." 

In their petition for authority "to levy and collect a tax of three 
pence per acre on all lands (public lands excepted), and a continua- 
tion of one penny per acre for a term of five years," the petitioners 
name as the objects upon which it was to be spent, roads, bridges, 
and meeting-house. That petition of 1787 was favored by the 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 63 

passage of an act giving to the town the right prayed for. Such a 
tax was levied and collected in part; and it is fair to presume that 
as Isreals river was the only stream of any magnitude in the town, it 
was bridged by the use of that tax. It was probably about 1 790 
that Stockwell built the first bridge, of which we have no descrip- 
tion whatever. Tradition has preserved the story of Stockwell 
being the first person to cross his bridge, but whether on foot or in 
some vehicle, no one seems to know. The right to cross the new 
bridge first was sold at auction, and Stockwell bid it off for five 
gallons of brandy, which must have cost him a handsome sum, for I 
find by reference to old accounts of that year that brandy cost 
forty-two shillings a gallon. Tradition does not say what became 
of the brandy, but it may be presumed that the jolly crowd dis- 
posed of it in celebrating the event. This old bridge took the 
name of its builder at a very early date, for we find it referred to as 
" Stockwell's bridge" in a contract between a committee appointed 
to let the mill privileges of the river in 1792 and Emmons Stock- 
well, the original of which I have before me. 

This old bridge served until 1805, when it was pulled down, 
and another of a better design took its place. At a special town 
meeting held July 6, 1804, a committee consisting of Richard C. 
Everett, Jonathan Twombly and Levi Willard recommended a plan 
for building a bridge over Isreals river, which report was adopted, 
and a committee consisting of Richard C. Everett, John Moore, and 
Nathaniel White, were appointed to superintend the construction of 
this bridge. 

The committee procured the materials, and had everything in 
readiness by the following spring, when it was voted at the annual 
meeting in March to pull down the old bridge, and make a tempo- 
rary one of its timbers, to be used while the new one was being 
built. In that vote it was stipulated that this work was to be done 
at "no expense to the town except for liquor for the men invited to 
pull down the old bridge by what is called a Bee." Of the " Bee" 
we know positively nothing, as it was never made a matter of record ; 
but we may safely presume that any man, in those days, would have 
considered it an honor to be invited to participate in such an enter- 
prise. The liquor, of course, was used as the stuff now is, as a safe- 
guard against sickness from contact with the water, or as a stimulant 
to fit them for the excessive fatigue from such heavy work. It may 
reasonably be doubted that the free liquor was intended as a com- 
pensation, or to induce men to perform a severe and dangerous 
task at a cheap rate. Lancaster had some old " topers " at that 
time, but they would hardly be invited to so dangerous and heavy a 
service. Liquor was freely used by nearly everybody those days, 
and especially at gatherings like house-raisings, and " Bees " of all 



64 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

sorts. The town could not be expected to be less hospitable and 
generous than its individual citizens. This practice of giving liquor 
on such occasions was general throughout the country at that time, 
and continued down to within a few decades. Happily, however, 
with improved methods of doing such work, and the growth of bet- 
ter sentiments and public opinion, those practices have passed away. 

This second bridge was a well-built one that served its purpose 
until 1837. It was replaced by an uncovered structure of hewn 
timbers resting on strong stone abutments, with one pier in the 
middle of the stream, and green posts supporting the double spans 
of heavy sills. The grade of Main street, on both sides of the river, 
was then much lower than at the present time. The height of the 
bridge was very nearly as great as that of the iron bridge of the 
present time, and was reached by long, and rather steep, graded 
approaches on both sides. 

In 1848, this one gave place to another wooden bridge, with 
latticed sides, about six feet high. These two bridges were along 
the line of improvement in bridge architecture, but they had to 
give way to the " covered bridge," which made its appearance about 
forty years ago. 

At the annual town meeting in 1862, steps were taken to erect a 
covered bridge on the same site of these previous uncovered ones. 
All preparations being made, and the material for the new structure 
being ready for its erection as soon as the old one could be pulled 
down, work began on its demolition, October 2, 1862; and by 
November i8th, teams were passing over the new bridge, which 
was not completed, however, for some weeks later. 

This bridge was by far the best that had ever been thrown 
across Isreals river. It had a double track for teams, and two side- 
walks. The people felt a pardonable pride in their covered bridge. 
They had a bridge of the regulation style, for at that time a covered 
wooden bridge was considered the best thing in that line. This 
bridge was doomed to meet a fate, however, that none of the poorer 
old structures before it had ever met. 

In 1886, there was a heavy freshet when the ice went out of the 
river. An ice gorge formed at the head of the dam of Frank Smith 
& Co.'s mill, and forced a large stream of water down Mechanic 
street, which broke over the banks just above the bridge, and car- 
ried the two-story door, sash, and blind factory of N. B. Wilson & 
Son, standing above the bridge on the south side of the river, out 
into the stream, and against the bridge, damaging it so much that a 
new one became necessary. By this time the art of bridge-building 
had been so developed as to have abandoned wooden bridges for 
iron and steel ones, on account of the many advantages of the latter 
kinds over the wooden structures. 




Flood, Israels River, February, 1870. American House and Ice Freshet, 187c 







Ice Freshet, 1870. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES. 65 

The people having become aware that to build more wooden 
bridges over this stream, so liable to excessive rise from the more 
rapid drainage of a section of country nearly divested of its forests, 
w'as unwise, and liable in the long run to be more expensive, 
decided upon a steel bridge. The contract for it was let to the 
Boston Bridge Company. Work was begun on it at once, and the 
bridge was open to the passage of teams in a very short time. This 
proved a wise choice as to the architecture of the bridge, for it did 
away with the unsightly covered structures formerly in use. The 
new bridge was entirely satisfactory, and even an ornament to the 
village, and what was better still, the people felt safe as to its future. 
But, alas ! a sad disappointment was in store for the town. In the 
spring of 1895, when the ice went out of the river, a dam in Jeffer- 
son broke letting into a very much swollen stream 700,000 feet 
of logs, which added to a vast quantity of ice came rushing down, 
carrying everything before it. When this mass of ice and logs 
reached the dam of Frank Smith & Co.'s mills where they had about 
500,000 feet of logs, and where an equally large quantity of ice had 
accumulated their boom broke leaving this entire mass of ice and 
logs to pass over their dam in one of the wildest scenes of confu- 
sion the village ever witnessed, the bridge with all its Herculean 
strength of steel could not resist the strain upon it, which was not 
only against its side but upward, lifting it bodily off the abutments 
and carrying it some eighty rods down the stream upon the mass of 
logs, where it was dropped a distorted and dilapidated mass. 

The selectmen at once set about the task of building a foot-bridge 
of the pontoon style of architecture above the dam by which travel 
was only impeded for a half day. The Mechanic street bridge re- 
ceived no serious injury in consequence of its great height above the 
water, and was available for teams at the risk of those who cared to 
use it. 

It was decided by the selectmen to use such portions of the steel 
bridge as were not too badly damaged in its reconstruction, which 
was undertaken at once. The Boston Bridge Company again took 
the contract on the work, supplying such new portions as were 
necessary to a good bridge. The structure was completed in 
August at a very moderate sum. The reconstructed bridge was 
raised nearly two feet higher than it was in 1895, ^^^^ the ap- 
proaches graded up, making a slight increase in the grade, and 
yet not materially affecting the appearance of either street or bridge. 
This bridge has a double track, and two sidewalks. It seems well 
adapted to meet the requirements of the community ; and so far as 
human wisdom can forecast the future it may be expected to stand 
until worn out by use and the ravages of time. 

The river, however, has become very much changed in character 
6 



66 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

from the denudation of the country of its timbers, and through the 
drainage of a number of swamps that served in early times as a sort 
of check upon the river by holding portions of the surface water 
back to run off more slowly. At present when the snows of winter 
go off, and the ice breaks up, if it happens to be accompanied by 
rain the streams become rapidly and greatly swollen, by which all 
bridges are endangered. This condition of things is likely to grow 
worse rather than better as time goes by. It has become necessary 
for the protection of property to raise the banks by the addition of 
stone walls of rubble at several points within the village limits. 

The Mechanic Street Bridge. — In early days a wooden bridge 
was built over Isreals river on Mechanic street. It was a single- 
span, wooden structure that served its purpose well until 1862, 
when it became unsafe, and was replaced by the present one. This 
bridge has rendered good service, aud although it sustained some 
injury from the great freshet of Feb. 18, 1870, remains serviceable 
yet. 

There are a few small bridges in various parts of the town, mainly 
over very small streams, which are substantial and meet all demands 
upon them in a satisfactory manner, and little need be said of them 
here. 

THE LOCAL ROADS. 

For the first three decades after the settlement of the town the 
roads were marked by committees of the proprietors, and built by 
assessments on proprietary rights in the town lands. The history 
of the very earliest roads, during the proprietary period of the set- 
tlement, is obscure, a mere matter of tradition, due to the loss of the 
proprietors' records in the court house fire of 1886. 

From 1792, down to the present day, the records of laying out, 
changing, or abandoning of roads are complete, and preserved in 
the Town Records. The earliest record of any highway we have, 
then, is that of the road from Stockwell's bridge to Colonel Wild- 
er's mills on the north side of Isreals river, a distance of seventy-two 
rods, the width of which was three rods. Most of the 
principal roads of the town were laid out by the selectmen 
in 1795, and full records of them are to be found entered 
upon the Town Records. The roads back from the rivers have 
been much changed from their first locations. They formerly ran 
over the higher grounds for the sake of escaping the wet lands on 
the levels. These roads were laid for the convenience of the new 
comers who invariably settled on the high lands back from the rivers 
to escape the early frosts, and because the soil is equally pro- 
ductive. 

The road to Dalton, Main street, and North Main street remain 



THE LOCAL ROADS. 6/ 

to-day where they were first laid out. All others have changed 
more or less. 

The road to Northumberland was from the head of Main street, by 
North Main street, past the house of E. B. Stockwell, following the 
river bank, thence to the Stanley house along the bank of the river, 
until it united with the present road near the Hadlock place. 

The first road east was a continuation of the road from Stock- 
well's bridge to Colonel Whipple's mills, to beyond the top of the 
hill about twenty rods back of the Plummer Moody house, thence 
passing over Sugar Hill to the bridge over Great Brook and on to the 
eastern settlement. A branch of this road extended past the Faulk- 
ner and Crandall places, over the hill, joining the Jefferson road near 
the George W. Webster place. In passing through Jefferson it ran 
twenty rods east of the present highway from the Samuel Marden 
house, and high above the Waumbek House, crossing Stag Hollow 
brook a mile above the present bridge across that stream. The road 
from Lancaster to Whipple Meadows ran from Stockwell's bridge 
along the south bank of the river. At an early date it was changed 
from near the old meeting-house and ran south of the present road 
to near the Jefferson mills. Old and rotten corduroy, sunk in the 
mud, marked the course of these old highways until within a very 
few years. 

The old road toward Whitefield has been changed from about 
three quarters of a mile south of Stockwell's Bridge to near where 
the old red schoolhouse stood in old District No. 8. This old 
road reached some noted old homesteads. Some fifty rods be- 
yond General W^illson's, the James Boutwell place by the 
cold spring, Isaac Darby, noted bear hunter, miller, and gun- 
smith, lived, and reared a large and respectable family. A mile 
beyond, -and near the cross-road to the Richard Eastman farm, 
was the Levi Willard farm, afterward owned by Asa Wesson. Levi 
Willard was one of the most prominent men in town in his day. 
He was sheriff of the county of Coos for the first seven years after 
it was erected. He held other responsible positions and offices. 

Some forty rods farther on was the farm of Jonathan Twombley, 
and later of his son Elijah D. Twombley. Thirty rods farther on 
was the farm of Esquire Joseph Farnham, later occupied by William 
Elliot. At the height of land was the home of David Perkins, later 
of Ephraim Leighton. There were at that time six large and valua- 
ble farms with good buildings, of which to-day not a vestige 
remains, unless it be an old dilapidated barn on the Willard farm. 

Those early roads were rude highways, crooked, and almost 
wholly undrained. The small streams and boggy places were 
crossed by corduroy, made by laying timbers lengthwise of the road, 
six or seven feet apart, covered with cross-timbers, usually round 



68 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

poles, some eight feet long. These primitive highways answered 
the wants of the people quite well as they used only ox-carts and a 
lumbering sort of "two-horse wagon," a two-wheeled vehicle. 
Those primitive roads continued to serve their purpose until the 
advent of the four-wheeled vehicles, which was in 1822. Imme- 
diately the habit of horse-back riding, and the stately old chaise 
began to give place to the one-horse, four-wheeled wagon, with a 
crooked frame firmly bolted to its wooden axles. It is claimed by 
Alonzo P. Freeman that Dr. Lyman brought the first four-wheeled 
wagon to Lancaster, and he says he remembers it distinctly with its 
wooden springs. It excited no little curiosity on the streets, and 
w'ell it might. The innovation was as great as the modern horseless 
carriages of to-day. Dr. Lyman is said to have procured his 
famous wagon in Connecticut. He was himself from that state, as 
were many other prominent men \\'ho came to Lancaster. The 
next vehicle was one with wooden springs, and regarded as a great 
improvement on the original wagon. Nothing but "chaises" until 
1854, when Wallace Lindsey bought the first four-wheel buggy or 
phaeton. Not long afterward, however, the real covered "buggy" 
made its appearance, since which the vehicles in use have been fully 
up to date with the progress in construction. The most important 
vehicle, the one to compel better roads, was the stage coach. When 
travel began to demand more rapid progress, and more comfort 
than the primitive means would furnish, this grand vehicle made its 
appearance, and once on the roads they had to be kept in good 
condition to insure dispatch and ease. 

Another incentive to road-building was the unparalleled pros- 
perity of this section from 1 790 to 1 800. The farms produced as 
they never had before, and some other commodities were produced, 
all demanding better roads to the markets. 

The territory of the town was at an early day divided into high- 
way districts, and a surveyor of roads, was annually elected over 
each one. The system was a very satisfactory one in some respects, 
though it failed for lack of uniformity of method in road work. 
There was no sufificient supervision, and sooner or later every sur- 
veyor was working on his differing plans, giving good roads, it is 
true, in some districts, while in others the roads were poor. If one 
surveyor did good work during his term of offtce the next one to suc- 
ceed him might undo it all or do little or nothing to sustain what 
had been well built. Even a much-increased highway tax did not 
guarantee good roads. They were a disgrace to the town after a 
time, and later became actually unsafe to travel. This state of 
things lasted until 1886, when the town made the radical change of 
employing a superintendent to have charge of all the road work, 
requiring him to give bonds for the faithful performance of his duties 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 69 

and the expenditure of the pubhc moneys raised for repair of roads. 
The result in a single season fully justified the change, for the con- 
dition of the roads bore no comparison to what they had been for 
many years previous. The stones were removed, and the old 
" water-bars " on the hills, that had been a nuisance for a whole 
generation, were done away with, and seventy out of the eighty-two 
miles of roads in the town were put in good condition, and have so 
remained to this date. The roads are now entirely safe, and of easy 
grades, and wider of track. The cost of repairing roads has been 
reduced fully forty per cent, by the new system, with the result of 
making better roads every year. 

In 1884, the town procured a Victor road machine, and in May 
gave it a thorough and satisfactory trial, after which it purchased 
the machine. 

This new method of road-working has proven a great advantage 
to the town, both in point of economy and better roads. It has 
enabled the repair of roads to be reduced to a system under a com- 
petent head. The road agents are now engaged with reference to 
their knowledge of the business of road repairing; and as very 
many less of them are necessary under the new system than under 
the old, one man is not undoing one year what his predecessor did 
the year before. Permanent improvements are added every year 
no matter who the agents may be ; and so in time a good result is 
seen in the cumulative efforts of the agents. 

In 1893 the town invested in a second road machine. 

These machines do more work now in one day than was often 
done by a large crew of men in a week under the old methods. 

In 1892 the town bought a stone-crusher, since which time there 
have been several of the streets, most notable Elm and South Main 
streets, macadamized. Sidewalks of crushed stone have been some- 
what in use, although the tendency has been in favor of concrete 
walks, and every year there are additions to the amount of that kind 
of walks made in the villag-e. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 



From the settlement of the town to the breaking out of the War 
of the Revolution the population had not probably reached four- 
score souls all told. A census taken, by order of Gov. John Went- 
worth, in 1773 gave the following numbers: 



^o 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 




Unmarried men from i6 to 60 . 


3- 


Married men from 16 to 60 


6. 


Boys 16 and under ........ 


8. 


Females unmarried ........ 


10. 


Females married . ...... 


7- 


Widows .......... 


I. 


Slaves .......... 


0. 



When the war-shadows had begun to gather, the new govern- 
ment ordered another census taken; and this time, 1775, we find 
a considerable increase for the last two preceding years. This 
census taken by Edwards Bucknam, as one of the selectmen, shows 
as follows : 



No of souls in Lancaster Sept. 22, 1775 : 

Males under 16 

Males from 16 to 50 not in the army 
Males above 50 gone in the army 
Females ....... 

Negros & Slaves for life .... 

8 guns fit for use, 7 guns wanted, and 11 lbs poder wanted." 



15- 
2. 
27. 
oo.:=:6l 



Although the number of people here was not large, and the 
country was an immense, little-known region, yet there were in it 
homes that meant everything to the little band of brave men who 
had endured so much to create them. Their future was full of 
promise, and already they had begun to make plans for the welfare 
of their children. They loved their rich acres whether cleared or 
bending beneath the burdens of their forests. They were hardy 
and intelligent rnen who had tasted the sweets of prosperity, liberty, 
and social life before coming to this wilderness to found an Ameri- 
can town. They were men and women with a purpose, and among 
other things that purpose included the intention to develop here 
a typical New England township, not apart from their former neigh- 
bors but with them. They fully shared with the people of Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut, from which states many of them had 
come, the pride and love of independence. They despised tyranny, 
as we have seen, and did not hesitate to debate their civil relations 
and questions with the governor 'and the general court when they 
felt that they had been dealt with unwisely or unfairly. They had 
sacrificed and endured much in order to protect their homes against 
the French and Indians, and now when a new combination of 
enemies of their safety had been formed, and a price put upon their 
scalps and bodies, they were not going to flinch, though some of 
those enemies were of their own race and country. They had no 
use for kings and foreign governments for they had learned to govern 
themselves in their own town meetings and provincial congress, 
which latter body, composed of one hundred and thirty-three mem- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 7 1 

bers sent by one hundred and two towns, had dismissed the king's 
governor and council, together with many other civil officers. 

The provincial government had forced upon these men a military 
training and provisions that made them formidable soldiers. That 
the men of every town might be useful in an emergency the laws 
had required every town to provide every male inhabitant, from 
sixteen years old to sixty, with a musket and bayonet, knapsack, 
cartridge box, one pound of powder, twenty bullets, and twelve 
flints. Every town was required to keep in readiness one barrel of 
powder, two hundred pounds of lead, and three hundred flints for 
every sixty men ; besides a quantity of arms and ammunition for 
persons not able to supply themselves. This provision the new 
government sought to carry out and make use of. 

Though remote in distance from the center of government, Lan- 
caster was no doubt close in sympathy with its policy in standing 
firmly for what were considered the interests of the American 
colonies in the matter of self-government, and the promotion of 
the welfare of American citizens. Whether Lancaster had any 
representation in the provincial congress, or the convention for the 
formation of that congress, we do not know. It is probable that its 
distance from the former seat of government, when the convention 
was called, led to its being passed by when the prescripts were sent 
out notifying the towns to send delegates. 

Lancaster had obeyed the call of the congress for taking a census, 
and made return, as we have seen above ; and yet it may have been 
with this town as it was with Conway. That town had raised a 
company of volunteer soldiers under the command of Capt. David 
Page, and sent to Exeter for a supply of ammunition when their 
messenger learned for the first time of the prescripts having been 
sent out, and that his town was either ignored or the notice had 
miscarried. Due apology was made to Conway by the officials, and 
a request sent them to send a representative which amicably arranged 
matters. At the session of the congress held at Exeter in Decem- 
ber, 1775, both Conway and Lancaster as a classed town were rep- 
resented by Abijah Learned, of Cockburne (now Columbia). 

It was at this juncture that a house of representatives was formed, 
and steps taken to organize the state government, as the old 
provincial government had been fully abolished. During the period 
covered by the sessions of the congress there was no civil organiza- 
tion that could be properly called a government, but rather a popu- 
lar convention called by the more prudent leaders of the people to 
meet a grave emergency. Acting under the advice of the con- 
tinental congress the provincial congress undertook the task of 
organizing a sovereign state of the people. 

Then it was that the second census, above given, was taken of the 



72 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

town which reveals the first period of rapid growth of population, 
and what was of as much importance at such a time, a desire for 
guns and ammunition with which to do their share of fighting in the 
struggle then inaugurated by the assault upon citizens situated just 
as they were. 

The continental congress had enjoined upon the states in taking a 
census, which, while it should afford a fair basis upon which to 
base representation in the state legislatures and congress, should also 
reveal the amount of powder and lead in the country. The people 
were also cautioned against " burning their powder in shooting at 
birds and other game." So peaceful had times become that there 
were in Lancaster seven more men than guns available for the war 
that everybody could see was sure to come upon the frontier com- 
munities. If the British soldier would not come it was certain that 
the Indians would be incited to acts of hostility against the settlers 
on the upper Connecticut River valley, as it was a sort of highway 
from Canada to northern New England. The leading men of Lan- 
caster and adjoining towns felt much alarmed for the safety of the 
Upper Coos for that reason ; and as early as the twentieth of June, 
1775, Edwards Bucknam and Seth Wales, a justice of the peace 
in Northumberland, wrote a lengthy letter to Colonels Jacob Bailey 
and John Hurd of Haverhill, N. H., giving them a vivid account of 
the situation of affairs along, and beyond, the Canadian boundary. 

From that account it appears that Bucknam and Wales had taken 
the precaution to send a scout as far as Lake Memphremagog in 
search of two men, and there had the good fortune to fall in with a 
party of friendly Indians, among whom was one Black Lewa by 
name, who was well known in Lancaster and Northumberland. He 
was an honest Indian, and a true friend of the white settlers, one 
whom they had entire confidence in. 

Lewa told the scouts that some time during the winter previous, 
he, with other Indians of his tribe, set out to guide two British 
officers from Canada to Coos, but upon learning that their object 
was to discover the most practicable road over which to lead an 
army to lay waste to the river settlements the following spring 
(1775), they quit the service of the ofificers and returned home. 
He denied all sympathy with the British, and professed his old-time 
confidence in the settlers. He was pleased to find an opportunity 
to expose the hostile intentions of the British officers. He also told 
the scouts that there were two thousand British soldiers making 
preparations to invade the states from that quarter some time the 
coming winter (1775-76). He told of large offers being held out 
to the Indian to induce them to join that proposed expedition, but 
without success. On the contrarj', Lewa assured the scouts, the 
Indians and even many of the French were disposed to join the 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 73 

Americans whenever they were ready to send an army to take 
Quebec. Lewa was sanguine in his expectation that all Canada 
would join the Americans in the hope of breaking the British rule 
in Quebec. Lewa offered his services as a spy to discover the 
movements of the British and bring the settlers information of 
them ; and this olifice he was well fitted for, as in the guise of a 
hunter and trapper he could move among the enemy without raising 
any suspicions whatever. 

Bucknam and his neighbors believed Lewa's story ; and it made 
a strong impression upon them. Bucknam and Wales, in the letter 
referred to, urged strongly upon Colonel Bailey to visit the Indian 
and interview him and be assured of the probable truth of the story 
he told the scouts. 

The people of this section were certain that their valley would 
be visited by the enemy because it was so near to Canada where 
the British army would be uninterrupted in their preparations for 
war, and where, it was feared, the Indians could so easily be induced 
to join with them in laying waste to this fair country. 

And while it happened that their worst apprehensions were not 
realized, there was no feeling of security in this section of the 
country until some time after peace had been declared. 

During the month of July, 1775, Colonel Bailey and Lewa visited 
the provincial congress then in session at Exeter, and the Indian 
again told his story. It made such a deep impression upon William 
Whipple, acting chairman of the committee of safety, that he at 
once ordered Captain Bedel to proceed immediately with his com- 
pany to Lancaster or Northumberland, and, after due consultation 
with the people, to build a fort sufficient for defence against small 
arms, and then to go still farther up the frontier and build such other 
garrisons as might be necessary for the protection of the people. 
He was instructed to use every endeavor to gain and hold the friend- 
ship of the Indians by making such presents as would please them. 

From Exeter Colonel Bailey and Lewa proceeded to the camp 
of the American army at Cambridge, Mass., where the Indian 
repeated his news to the commanders ; and how much influence it 
may have had in determining an expedition against Quebec it is not 
easy to conjecture, but it must have had some weight with General 
Washington. 

Captain Bedel came to Lancaster, and upon mature deliberation 
three forts were decided upon, two of which were built in North- 
umberland, and one in Stratford. One of these forts was built at 
the mouth of the Ammonoosuc river, near where the old Fort 
Wentworth had been built more than twenty years before ; and the 
second one was located\ on what was known as the Marshall farm. 
The one in Stratford was in the north part of the town. 



74 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Wild consternation filled the minds of the scattering settlers in 
this section. Some fled for places of greater safety, others wished 
to follow them ; but there were a remnant of the people who 
refused to leave their homes, and but for those brave men and 
women the entire population would have fled, leaving their homes 
to fall into the hands of the roving Indians that came along soon. 
The young wife of Caleb Marshall, on whose farm one of the forts 
in Northumberland was build, had her household goods hidden 
away, and then, with one child of two years of age and an infant 
less than a month old, mounted a horse and fled to Hampstead, a 
distance of more than a hundred and fifty miles from her home, for 
safety. 

Scouts were at once sent out to learn, if possible, the movements 
of the enemy, and a sufficient number of men were kept at the forts 
to properly garrison them so as to afford a safe retreat for the 
women and children in case of an attack from either the British or 
their Indian allies. 

In such a state of suspense and hourly expectation of danger, the 
first year of the war passed without either actual warfare or even an 
attack from the enemy. The hope of these hardy frontiersmen was 
that in the event of an invasion of the river settlements they might 
be able to hold the enemy in check or drive him back, and so save 
the lower settlements from an invasion. Their forts were located 
with reference to keeping the enemy out of the valley. Lancaster 
asked for no fort or garrison, but urged the location of them farther 
up the river, where the people would be first, and most exposed to 
the depredations of the Indians in event the British should make 
allies of them. The spirit of these northern frontiersmen was as 
worthy of praise as that of any section of our whole country. 
Everything pointed to this valley becoming a sort of highway for 
forays from the enemy, who was safely making preparations for the 
war just over the line where once the French and Indians had laid 
similar plans. The settlers never feared an invasion from any other 
point than across the Canadian line north of them. It was against 
that point of danger that they wished to fortify their country, and 
by defending themselves prevent the enemy from going down the 
river to other towns. So great was the fear of attack that all 
interests gave way to the defence of the Upper Coos valley. 

These upper towns petitioned the Committee of Safety for a suit- 
able garrison to hold these forts, and check any invading force of 
either Indians or British that might reach this section. 

This petition seems to have had no response accorded it, for no 
soldiers were sent here upon its almost pathetic appeal. The 
reason must not be attributed to any indifference upon the part of 
the committee of safety, or the general court, for much danger was 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD, 75 

feared from this quarter. Soldiers could not be spared from more 
exposed points, and the means for their equipment were too scanty. 
All the men and equipments available had to be sent to hold the 
grounds gained in the vicinity of Boston, and. guard the Champlain 
Lake region where it was evident efforts would be made to land 
forces to flank the New England forces and march upon New York. 
From the gravity of their situation on a frontier where attacks were 
so certainly expected, and the forces wholly inadequate to offer any 
formidable resistance, the people no doubt felt somewhat aggrieved 
at both the central committee of safety and the general court. 
When the new government sent out its precepts notifying the 
towns to send representatives to the general court in 1775, some of 
the leading spirits in Lancaster, and notably among them David 
Page, replied to it in the following terse manner : 

"To the Honorable Provincial Congress conveaned at Exeter Dec. 20 A D 

^775— ... 

" Respected Gentlemen — we sould take this opportunity to inform your Honor- 
able House That the nine Towns in the upper Cohos have not complied with the 
precept of the last Congress issued to them for the election of a Representative 
the reasons of which conduct are these — first, the needy circumstances of the 
people render it impossible for them to be at the expence of supporting one. 

2 the distance of the inhabitance and difificulty of communacation is so great 
that it prevented a general attendance in the meeting for to chuse a representative 
we write to your honorable house as individuals but at the same time as being 
well acquainted with the minds of the people it is their universal desire not to be 
taxed to defray aney Expence of delegates maintaining this principel that their 
ought to be no ta.xation without representation we are with the highest respect for 
your house much respected Gentlemen your most obedient humble servants. 

Lancaster, Dec, 14th. 1775. David Page <( Selectmen for Lancaster. 

James Brown. -^ Selectmen for Stratford. 
Josiah Walker, inhabitant of Stratford," 

This communication was signed by Page, and from its style and 
spirit I think it was written by him with the knowledge and consent 
of his few most confidential advisors on local matters. It was not 
the action of the town through its voters in any public meeting for 
no such meeting was ever held ; but notwithstanding, this refusal to 
convene the voters and choose a representative, the town was rep- 
resented by Col. Joseph Whipple of Dartmouth who was the follow- 
ing year elected, and Dartmouth was in Lancaster's class of towns 
for representation from 1776 to 1778. During the session of the 
legislature of 1776, Colonel Whipple was appointed a commissioner 
to take into consideration the difficulties and grievances that existed 
in several towns in Grafton county with respect to the form of the 
new government. Among those disaffected towns was Lancaster. 
Colonel Whipple was brought into close relations with the leaders 
among these northern towns, and whatever he may have reported to 
the legislature in regard to their attitude towards the new form of 



y6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

government did not affect his relations to the people here, for all 
through the long war we find him acting with them. When he was 
appointed colonel of the Twenty-fifth regiment of militia he secured 
Edwards Bucknam as his lieutenant-colonel. He seems never to 
have lacked in confidence of Bucknam and Eames. 

It is likely that Colonel Whipple had a salutary influence over 
these northern towns during this period of disaffection, and that he, 
as much as anybody else, prevented the split in the matter of the 
Vermont controversy. He was close in his relations with the gov- 
ernment, and had full confidence in its ability and patriotic inten- 
tions to serve the people faithfully in a time so critical as that of the 
revolutionary struggle for a common freedom that all Americans 
might rejoice in. 

A spirit of renewed confidence in the government seems to have 
taken possession of the people in the month of June, and as great 
fears were entertained that an attack was being planned to take 
effect at an early day from the north, the people turned to Exeter 
once more in a petition that is almost pathetic for soldiers, to defend 
their section against one of the worst of enemies. Their petition 
was as follows : 

" The humble petition of a number of inhabitants belonging to the several 
towns in the upper Cohoss (so called) humbly sheweth : That your petitioners 
having moved themselves and families from the interior part of this Colony, at a 
great expense and difficulty, and by industry have cleared such a quantity of Land 
as by close application have Spported their families, this day have information 
by letter from the Committee of Safety for the tovi'ns of Bath, Gunthwaite, Lan- 
dafF& Lyman, that our army in Canada consisting of about iiooo men, were 
drove to St Johns by 30000 Regulars, 1500 Canadians & 500 Indians." 

As it was impossible to get soldiers from the front, where open 
hostilities were rife, to defend a section of country not yet invaded, 
the hardy frontiersmen next conceived the plan of having one of 
their own number invested with the authority to raise a company of 
volunteers at home, and in the near-by towns, to stand guard over 
this river pass that it seemed so very certain the enemy would take 
advantage of, and especially as he could likely induce the Indians to 
again take up the hatchet against the whites who so severely chas- 
tised them some twenty years before. If they could not have 
soldiers sent them in their hour of sorest trial they could, at least, 
organize a company of good soldiers out of their scouts and the 
heads of families who did not care to fly to some other point of 
safety and leave their homes to be plundered by Indians and British 
soldiers bent on laying waste to the country. They accordingly 
sent the following petition to the congress at Exeter: 

"Whereas we the inhabitants of Lancaster, Northumberland, Guildhall & Strat- 
ford are fully sensible of the dangers of being attacked by the Canadians which 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 'J'J 

are the worst of enmeys <& although some of our neighbors have Quit the ground, 
yet we the subscribers Do Joinly & severaly promis & ingage to Stand our ground 
providing the Honorable Counsell sees Fit to grant our request That is this, that 
you will please us your petitioners so far as to appoint Mr. Jere'h Ames of North- 
umberland our friend and Neighbor, Commander of our Fort which with a great 
deal of fatage we have almost accomplished & likewise for him the said Ames to 
have orders to inlist as many men as the Honab'l Cort in their wisdom will see fit, 
we do ingage to inlist ourselves & obey his orders as long as he is stationed in ui> 
per Coos and Commander of our Fort. 
July 6, 1776." 

This petition was signed by the following persons : 

" Thomas Blodgett, James Curtiss, Archippus Blodgett, 

Emmons Stockwell, Josiah Blodgett, Joseph Barlow, 

Nathanile Caswell, Sam'l Nash, Abijah Earned, 

Moses Ouimby, Ward Bailey, James Blake, 

David Earned, Sam'l Page, Abner Osgood, 

Dies Sawyer, Abel Earned, John Frickey." 

Elizer Rosebrook, Abner Barlow, 

This petition had its desired effect ; and inside of a week the cen- 
tral committee of safety addressed the following communication to 
Capt. Jeremiah Eames : 

"You are hereby authorized to Enlist Fifty good able bodied and effective men 
officers included, to serve as soldiers under you for three months (unless sooner 
discharged) as scouting parties to make their head Quarters at Great Cohoss, not 
taking more than ten of the Inhabitants of said Great Cohoss in number: and you 
are to make return as often as you can conveniently of your Routs, discoveriey &c. 
to Col.^ Bailey, Hurd and Col. Johnson at lower Cohoss, and take their instruc- 
tions from time to time for your future conduct. The men you Enlist are to be 
paid thirty shillings as a Bounty, and assure them they shall receive forty shillings 
per month when your roll is made up ; and the company are to choose a Eieut. 
Ensign & 2 Sergt.' You as Captain shall receive £fi, your Eieutenant ,^^4, and 
Ensign £},, Each Sergt. 48 sh. per month. The Capt., Eieuts. & Ens."» to re- 
ceive no bounty." 

Captain Eames at once set about raising his company, and in 
order to fill his quota made a trip to Haverhill and the towns lower 
down the river. By the time he was ready to enlist men, August, 
the month of harvesting their crops was upon him. The crops of 
that year were abundant, and it was thought best not to encourage 
the farmers to neglect gathering them as against their future neces- 
sities. Captain Eames was successful enough, however, to enlist, 
and bring into service thirty men to garrison the new fort in North- 
umberland at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc river, which they had 
named Fort Weare, in honor of Meshech Weare, president of the 
state congress. These men were used as a garrison and for scout- 
ing purposes in order to learn the presence and plans of the enemy. 
There is no record of their doings, but from fragmentary allusions to 
their actions we conclude that they were kept in action mostly as 
scouts, for at one time complaint was made that the fort was entirely 



78 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

deserted by the garrison, which left the women and children ex- 
posed, as they thought, to sudden attacks by the Indians and Can- 
adians. There is no evidence that this desertion of the fort by the 
garrison was unwise or due to a lack of caution. The enemy was 
supposed to be in the country, and they were seeking to discover 
his whereabouts. That was as much a part of their duty as to gar- 
rison the fort. It was not the intention of the committee of safety 
that these soldiers should remain inside the fort and allow a shrewd 
enemy to flank them, and get into the lower towns. By a constant 
patrol of the country northward and westward it would be an easy 
matter to apprehend the movements of either an army of regular 
soldiers or a band of Indians, which were as much to be feared as 
the British regulars. 

The conduct of Captain Eames and his company did not seem to 
restore confidence and a feeling of safety. On the contrary, 
the people seemed to have grown restless and fearful as the 
period for which the company had been enlisted drew to a close. 
Under the feeling that they had been poorly served by Captain 
Eames's company of soldiers, and that the danger was just as great 
as at any time previous, the people of Lancaster and other towns 
appointed Capt. Edwards Bucknam to go to Exeter in the fall of 
1776, and lay before the general court their grievances against Cap- 
tain Eames and his men and ask for some new measures of relief. 
Captain Bucknam went provided with a document given by the peo- 
ple, and setting forth some of their grievances as well as express- 
ing their wishes in the matter of relief. Among other things 
this document sets forth a rather deplorable condition of affairs, and 
recommends Captain Bucknam for any office the court may see fit 
to entrust him with in behalf of the safety of the people, as follows: 

" We recommend Capt. Bucknam in behalf of the inhabitants aforesaid for any 
office or command of any party of men that the Court in their wisdom should see 
proper to be raised and sent for our protection. 

" Likewise a Commissary which may be likely to give content and be faithful to 
the Colony, as some of these Preveleges may prove incoragments to these Frontier 
Settlements. 

" The commander of the company Now Stationed Hear & Comasary Have Not 
conducted themselves agreable to the minds of the Inhabitants Nor for the Bene- 
fit of the State — therefore it is Desired that the inhabitants may not be imposed 
upon by these two Gentlemen any longer than their first ingagements are Expired 
— and although the Honorable Court Has seen fit to send for our Protection a 
Number of able Bodyed men are now stationed amongs us in order as we soposed 
to Build or Erect any fort or Breastworks or at least to complete the fort we the 
inhabitants had Built, with storehouse and Barracks that we might have had some 
place of Refuge to flee to with our families at any Suden Danger or Surprise — 
But Notwithstanding all our Expectations & Hopes of Safety we are unhapily Dis- 
appointed — for our fort stands just as Capt. Eames found it without the least alter- 
ation Except age — Thus we do desire you the said Capt. Bucknam in the behalf 
of the inhabitants to inforn the Honorable Court of our Setuation that we are now 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 79 

ill, and Prehaps they think we shall Be in a much worse Condition if we are 
Driven into our Naked fort without anything to seport Nature or Cover our Heads 
which if there is No Better Management than there is at Present No Doubt Will 
Be the Case." 

From such representations of things here it may be inferred that 
Captain Eames's company did Httle else than .scout duty. Perhaps 
the captain may have been convinced from the situation of affairs 
that the fort would never be needed, and that every family could 
take care of its own question of " supplying nature, and covering 
their own heads." 

Whatever was the situation nothing had been done to reassure the 
people of safety. If only Indians were to have been expected to 
assail the people, then perhaps the best way would have been to 
have met them by their own tactics of war, and hunted them down 
like wild beasts that they were. At all events the people were not 
satisfied and desired a change in the order of things, and were not 
slow in making known their wishes to the government. 

Just what was done for their relief and satisfaction is not known ; 
but it does not appear from anything that we can learn of the 
situation in this section that any radical change was effected, or that 
the old forts were repaired, or that the scouting service was changed 
very materially, for that service continued until after the news of the 
surrender of Cornwallis had reached the upper Coos. Nothing but 
a treaty of peace, and the withdrawal of the British army could 
restore a feeling of safety in this section. 

Although the whole of the year of 1776, the most eventful year 
of all the seven long years of the war for New England, had passed 
without any attacks upon the Upper Coos, or even any serious 
alarm, yet the people were uneasy and tormented with the fear of 
what did come later — the invasion of the country by the Indians 
and French half-breeds, whom they regarded with more dread than 
an army of regular soldiers. These savages knew and respected no 
honorable methods of warfare. They knew only how to plunder 
the homes of the absent settlers and carry into captivity their wives 
and children. As things turned out it was well that these frontiers- 
men were alert and careful to guard their homes against these 
savages. Although the British may not have at any time seriously 
considered an attack upon this section, they did later incite the 
Indians and half-breeds to plunder the frontier settlements and 
carry off captives, as we shall see later. 

The year 1777 was not so eventful as the preceeding one for 
Lancaster. The scouting party seems to have kept itself in the field 
or in readiness to respond to any alarm or even suspicion of an 
invasion of this section ; but no fighting took place during the 
year. 



8o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

As the expenses of the war began to fall heavily upon the 
treasury and exhaust it during the first year of the war, a ne.w 
apportionment of state taxes was made. Male and female slaves 
between the ages of sixteen and forty-five were taxed, but Lancaster 
never knew a slave of any kind in service to any of its citizens. 
Among other things that were regarded as liable to contribute to 
the treasury, the means of prosecuting the war, was " So much 
orchard as will in a common season produce ten barrels of cyder 
one acre." Less than ten barrels-per-acre orchards were exempt. 
We do not know how such items affected Lancaster, but they helped 
to swell the sum total of state taxes. If Lancaster had neither slaves 
nor "cyder" in ten barrel lots, and other sections had both in 
goodly quantities, as they no doubt did, it rather increased the 
burdens of Lancaster as her proportion of taxes were four pounds, 
eleven shillings and two-a-half pence on each thousand pounds. 
The valuation of the town, it seems, was not considered, and no such 
valuation was ever taken as a basis of this tax bill so far as we can 
learn. 

There was a feeling that the tax bill of that year was dispropor- 
tionate to the ability of the people to pay it, and a mild protest was 
made in the following communication to the general court: 

" To the Honorable the General Court held at Exeter for the state of New 
Hampshire — We the subscribers being chosen Selectmen for the town of Lan- 
caster, Beg Liberty to inform your Honors that about the 25th of January Last we 
received a tax bill from the Treasury of this state of one hundred Eighty two 
pounds Eight shillings and four pence which we apprehend to be considerable 
more than our proportion of the forty thousand therein mentioned Which we must 
suppose must be through a misrepresentation in our last Proportion and our num- 
ber being lesened By the War render us the less Capable of Paying so large a 
sum. Also would inform the Honorable Court that at the last Proportion we 
were not informed how much Each Pole Each acre of improved Land Stock &c 
was this set at. Wherefore we pray our grievances may be taken into your wise 
consideration and some suitable measure Pointed out for our conduct which will 
Excite us to a speedy compliance to the above mentioned order — and as in duty 
bound shall Pray. 

" Lancaster Feby 7th 1778." 

That this tax had some effect in determining Lancaster to look 
for relief from a burdensome relation to the state of New Hamp- 
shire by casting her lot with either Vermont or the proposed new 
state of New Connecticut, then talked of so much, there can be 
little or no doubt. 

The controversy over the boundary between New Hampshire and 
Vermont was at its height during the years 1778, and 1779, and 
as we have seen, elsewhere, Lancaster no doubt favored the for- 
mation of a new state, and there were not lacking those among her 
citizens who would have gladly cast in their lot with Vermont. At 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 8 1 

all events the relations between Lancaster and the state seem not to 
have been of the most cordial and confiding character during 
the year 1778; but as we have seen, in dealing with the Vermont 
Controversy, Lancaster abandoned that movement when it assumed 
a phase of insubordination to the union of the states, and undertook 
to defy the continental congress under a threat of allying itself with 
the British. Lancaster wanted the independence of the states, and 
was always loyal to the general government, imperfect as it might 
have seemed to the people at their distance from its scenes of 
activity during the long years of the war. Lancaster and other 
towns north of it did not consider themselves generously dealt with 
by the state government, convening always in some of the older 
tide-water towns, and no doubt greatly under the influence of those 
older and richer communities. These frontier towns felt that the 
state should do more to assist them and to make their burdens 
lighter. This last ta.x was a very heavy burden to fall upon so 
small a number of taxpa}'ers as Lancaster must have then had. 
Her number of ratable polls in 1783 was only ten, as certified to 
by lidwards Bucknam under oath before Jeremiah Eames, J. P., 
December 2, 1783. While we have seen that the population of 
Lancaster was sixty-one in 1775, it had even decreased by the 
withdrawal of a number of the men to enter the service of the army. 
The few men able to pay any sum of taxes would have been practi- 
cally bankrupted by the above-mentioned sum. Lancaster, be it 
remembered, was not accumulating wealth then as she might have 
done had there been passable roads to the markets. She was 
practically without markets, and could do little more than barely 
make a living for the people so far removed from the sources 
supplying luxuries in those days. What little produce there was to 
sell would not more than pay its transportation over the bad roads 
of that time, so the people were without encouragement to do more 
than make a living and improve their lands and houses in the hope 
that with the return of peace better roads could be had. Under 
such circumstances we cannot wonder that loyal men should beg for 
some measures of relief from an excessive tax bill, amounting to 
something like a hundred dollars per capita for the taxpayers. 

The year of 1778 wore away without serious trouble from the 
enemy. There were some rumors of the approach of Indians, but 
careful scouts failed to find them ; and a feeling of greater safety 
would be received on the return of the scouts. 

The British authorities had offered, and did pay, bounties for 
either captives or their scalps taken along the border during the 
latter years of the war. Eleven dollars were paid for scalps, and 
fifty-five dollars for prisoners taken by the Lidians. This fact being 
known to the people of this section accounts for their great fear of 



82 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the Indians and the French half-breeds. The people took every 
precaution to keep on friendly terms with the Indians in order to 
insure their own safety. 

During the spring of 1779, however, the Indians from the mission 
camps in Canada had grown restless, and longing for the excitement 
and plunder offered by their methods of warfare, began to grow 
bolder in their designs. They began to make raids upon the thinly- 
settled frontier and kill or carry off some of the whites. 

With Vermont threatening to unite with the British, and no hope 
of the formation of a new state in the Connecticut River valley, 
these northern towns again turned to Exeter as the only source 
from which to hope for assistance. Lancaster, Northumberland, 
and Stratford united in sending a petition to the council and house 
of representatives as follows : 

" The Memorial of Sundry of the Inhabitants of the Towns of Lancaster North- 
umberland & Stratford humbly Sheweth, that on Thursday the 24th. Inst. June 
A party of Indians aboute fifteen in Numlier Commanded by A French man, came 
into Stratford took two Prisners Phindered two FamiHes of everything Valuable 
which they had, we humbly pray that your Honors would take the matter into 
your Sereous Considerations and provide such Assistance for our future Security, 
from those Barbarous Savages, as your Wisdom shall Direct and your Memorial- 
ists as in duty Bound shall Ever Pray. — 
Lancaster 27th June 1779. 

Joseph Peverly Ward Bailey 

Thomas Peverly Caleb marshall 

Daniel Spaldin Emmons Stockwell 

Nathan Caswell moses Page 

Dill Sawyer Jonas Wilder 

Enoch Hall Edwards Bucknam." 

[13 Hammond's Town Papers, 474-475.] 

The two men referred to in this petition as being taken and 
carried off by the Indians were Joseph Barlow and Hezekiah Fuller. 
What disposition their captors made of them we do not know. 
Their names figure in business transactions at a subsequent date, 
from which we may infer that they either escaped or were ransomed 
from the Indians. It was a matter of frequent occurrence for towns 
to pay the ransom of such captives. 

Elijah Blogget of Stratford ransomed Gilbert Borged and Josiah 
Blogget the 19th of July, 1781. These men may have been simi- 
larly ransomed, but of which fact we happen to have no account. 
Besides these four persons we have no actual knowledge of captures. 
Peter Poor of Shelburne was shot by Indians in August, 1781, and 
several persons were captured and others killed just over the line in 
Maine. These invasions of the towns then acting together for 
common safety was enough to arouse the people. Whether their 
petition of June 27 received no immediate attention, or there existed 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 83 

sufificient reasons to expect a repetition of the invasion, we do not 
know, but the people were aroused, and called a meeting of the 
inhabitants of Lancaster, Northumberland, and Stratford to convene 
at Northumberland to take action for some immediate measure of 
relief. At this meeting, which has been dignified by the name of 
convention, the people took the matter into their own hands and 
organized for their defence. This record of the meeting, so char- 
acteristic of the men of this section, is found in " Hammond's Revo- 
lutionary Rolls." We give it in full just as it was penned by 
Edwards Bucknam : 

"At a meeting of the Inhabitants of Lancaster Northumberland & Stratford to 
hear the Report of Joseph Peverly Esqr and also to agree upon Sum Proper Place 
for the Scouting Party to Be Stationed, Viz — first — 

" Chose maj'r Jonas Wilder moderator — 

" 2d. Choose Cap't Edw'ds Bucknam Clark 

"3d Voted that the Place for the Scouting Party to Be stationed, at Mr James 
Browns in Stratford 

"4 Voted that Every man in Each town Viz. Lancaster Northumberland and 
Stratford to work one Day at the fort In Stratford Immediately — 

" 5 Chose Nathan Caswell Captain over these three towns for the Present 

"6 Chose Nathan Barlow Lieut 

" 7 Chose Dennis Stanley Ensine 

" 8 Chose majV Jonas Wilder the man to go Down to E.xeter 

"9 Chose Joseph Peverly Esq'r Capt Edw's Bucknam and Al'r John Hold- 
brook a Committee to Give Directions to maj'r Jonas Wilder and draw a Purticion 
to the general court to send by maj'r Wilder 

" 10 Voted that m'r John Gamsby m'r James Blake and Mr John Holdbrook a 
Committee Plan out the fort at Stratford." 

" Northumberland July loth 1779." 

These were the last active measures the people of this section 
were called upon to take, but the vigilance of the scouts was not 
dispensed with for two more years. The Indians and half-breeds 
did not venture another attack in the upper river valley. The 
fright they had given the settlers did not subside very soon. 

During the nearly five years that the war had continued, these In- 
dian raids were all that this section saw of hostilities. New England 
had been abandoned by the enemy, who was moving southward to 
his fate. During the year 1780, and following to the end of the war, 
there were no activities on the part of Lancaster of importance, ex- 
cept the constant watchfulness of her scouts. Stratford petitioned 
for a guard in 1780, but the scare that led them to that action did 
not extend to Lancaster. The people were able to go about their 
business with a feeling bordering on safety, though at no time did 
the feeling of security lead them to neglect their preparations for 
defence. Every man kept his trusty old gun ready for action on a 
moment's notice. 

When the war was finally over and the scouts were called in, an 



84 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

account of Lancaster's expenditures during the war was made and 
certified to by Emmons Stockwell and Jonas Wilder, the selectmen 
at the time. This bill, amounting to nearly two hundred pounds, 
was presented to the general court for settlement as a debt incurred 
on behalf of the state. Col. Joseph Whipple, representative then, 
presented the bill for settlement. These military accounts were not 
kept in any regular form, as there was not the organization of the 
forces that one meets with in other sections of the country. The 
people of the Upper Coos, while they were assisted to some extent, 
were left largely to take care of themselves. They were busy with 
their home cares, and when called into military service they had lit- 
tle time, or may have even lacked in experience necessary to organ- 
ize themselves as military bodies generally were in those times. As 
scouts, their parties were small and under the directions of some 
woodsman who was more familiar with the methods of the hunter or 
Indian fighter than he was with military tactics. They did their 
work of patrolling the country fully as well, and perhaps it may be 
better than a regularly organized body of soldiers would have done 
it. And when it came to presenting their claims for a service ren- 
dered the state, they were more in the form of mere memoranda. 
We present some of them below, written on mere scraps of paper, 
that have been preserved among the private papers of Gen. Edwards 
Bucknam. As many of them have never been put on record in a 
manner to preserve them for future generations, we insert them here 
lest some day they should get lost. They throw light upon the 
questions that concern us in the history of the stirring events of that 
time, and are worthy a place in the town's record of daring and sac- 
rifice for freedom. 

Statement of service and provisions furnished by the town during 
the war : 

~\ The amount of the Scouting by the inhabitants of the Town 
'775 ^y ° vof Lancaster in the Upper Coos in the War with Great Briton 
'' ' ~ ■ ) & the sum of Provisions Expended for Scouts, 



To 457 Days Scouting ^ . ^j^ ^ 
To Provisions expended for Scouts > '^ ■ if, ■ 
at Sundry times J 



May 10 1791 

The above amnt taken from minutes kept by us of the Scouts that 
went out of the town Lancaster in the time of the War 

Attest '\ Select 

Edards Bucknam ( men 
E. Stockwell I Lancaster 

J for 1791-" 

The following summary of scouting and expenses bears no date, 
but is of value as showing who were the scouts : 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 



85 



" The following Role is a true and exact account of what Scouting the inhabi- 
tants of the Town of Lancaster have done at their own expense for the security 
and safety of the frontier Towns on & near The Connecticutt in Upper Coos. 



" Names. 


Time when 
entered service. 


No. days 
served. 


When discharged or 
returned from scouting. 


Moses Page 
John Indian 


June 15, 1775 
Do 15 Do 


1 1 days 
1 1 


June 26, 1775. 
Do Do Do. 


James Rosebrook 


Do 15 Do 


II Do 


Do Do Do. 


David Page 

David Page 
Do Do 

Emmons Stockwell 
Do Do 
Do Do 


July 2, 1775 
August 10, 1776 
August 20, 1 78 1 
May 26, 1775 
Sept. 10, Do 
June 4, 1776. 


10 
10 
12 

12 

8 

15 


July 12, 1775. 
Aug. 26th. 1776. 
Sept. 2, 1 78 1. 
June 1st. 1775. 
Sept. 1 8th. Do. 
June 19, 1876." 



Alarms Durinc} the War. 

The following account I find in Bucknam's papers, signed by him- 
self and Jonas Wilder, under date of June 22, 1786: 

"An account of the alarms in the Upper Coos during the war: In July, 1776, i 
alarm; Sept., 1777, i alarm; 1778, do; in July 1779, i alrm. Indians took 
prisoners at Stratford; in June, 1780, i alarm; August, 1780, do; Oct., 1780, i 
do; Thos. Worcester taken ; in July, 1781, i alarm; some wounded men came 
in and said Pritchett was near; Sept., 1781, i alarm. Pritchett went to Wip- 
ple's ; in May, 1782, r alarm, Abel Learned taken; June, do, i alarm; in Oct., 
r alarm. Nix taken." 

The following account or memorandum was found among Gen. 
Bucknam's private papers, and is inserted here as showing some of 
his activities during the war. I thought best not to alter it in any- 
particular. It was simply the memorandum of his services upon 
which he may have based his claims in a bill for services and provi- 
sions furnished the scouts at various times: 

" State of New Hampshire to Edwards Bucknam, Dr. 
^^ > To 17 Days scouting in the Upper Cohas at 4 sh. 

J, , I To 9 days scouting at 4 sh. Pd. John Indian 

Sept 1777. To 10 days Scouting 

Sept 1778. To six Days 5 Do Scouting 

1781 ) ^^ ^ Day forting 

r > To Provisions Delivered to 

-•""^ ) Capt. Caswell & Party 

10: 6:3. 



(in 


silver). 


3 • 


8: 0. 


I : 


16 : 


1 


: 


2 


4: 





4: 


: 


14- 3- 



86 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



To 6 Days Paid Saml. Page at 4sh. 
To 3 Do more 



Errors Excepted, 

Edw."!" Bucknam." 
Another memorandum : 

" Sept 4 1780 
Capt. Gasslin and Party that had come from Canada 
to Provisions & Rum 



I : 4:0. 
o : 12 : o 



£^ 



silver money 
^0:15: 
5:0 
2 :o 



to ten meels Vittels i 6 Pr meel 

to five Gills Rum ....... 

to two Do Do more ....... 

Reed. Payment 

Lieut Gassclin, Capt." 

Among Gen. Bucknam's papers I find this interesting receipt, and 
insert it here as showing how business was transacted in these parts 
during the war. It is in French, but we offer a translation for the 
English reader. 

'' Je sousigne'' avoir recus du Capt Boknem 90 de Pork et one pinte de sell de 
le 21 Avril 1779 

de plus recus deux fusil 
Come jai recus deux fusils de Capt boknem 
J''ai donne le present four remetre au general Balay a Coos 

da Gassclin Capt." 

Translation : 

The undersigned received of Capt Bokem 90 pork and one pint of salt April 
21, 1779, and also two guns. 

The receipt for the two guns must be given to Gen. Balay of Coos. 

Gossclin, Capt. 

The following account I find among Gen. Bucknam's papers. He 
was one of the administrators of the estate of David Page, Sr., who 
died in 1785, and this came into his hands as many other papers of 
" Gov. Page " did. We insert it as a curious relic of the customs of 
the time, and as throwing additional light upon our subject : 

Coll. John Goffe Dr. to David Page. 



"1779 
March 6 



To fifteen Pounds six ounces Pork 

To six Pounds Beef 

To 4 meeals of meet 

To 4 meeals Spon vittels 

To 4 meeals Spon vittels 

To 4 meeals meet . 

To 4 meeals meet . 

To 4 meeals meet vittels 



" Delivered to John Moor & the Rest of the 
Dartmouth company on Coll Goffe Order." 



0:15 :4. 
o :03 :o. 
o :02 :o. 
o :oi -.4.. 
o :oi -.4. 
o :o2 :8. 
o :o2 :o. 
o :o2 :8. 

^I :ll :o. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 



87 



To these interesting accounts I add the following, taken from Re- 
volutionary Rolls of New Hampshire, as probably the last of the 
records of the war in which Lancaster was concerned financially. 

" State of New Hampshire Grafton ss. 

" Rations due to twelve men while in service in the state of New Hampshire & 
raised for a Scouting Party on the frontiers in the upper Co'os in the year 1782 
and inlisted the 13th Day of April 1782, and discharged last day of Nov. follow- 
ing and each man found hisself said Term. 





When 


When 


Months in 




Rations 


" Names inlisted. 


enlisted. 


discharged. 


service. 


Days. 


due. 


James Blake Sergt. 


Ap. 13, 1782. 


Nov. 30 day. 


7 


17 days. 


£i-~ 


Archippus Blodgett 


" 13 .' 


- 30 " 


7 


17 " 


" 12 


Joshua Lamkins 


" 13 " 


" 30 " 


7 


17 " 


" 12 


James Brown 


" 13 " 


" 30 " 


7 


17 " 


" 12 


Elijah Blodgett 


" 13 " 


" 30 " 


7 


17 " 


'' 12 


Dennis Stanley 


" 13 " 


- 3c " 


7 


17 " 


" 12 


Moses Page 


" 13 " 


" 30 " 


7 


17 "■ 


" 12 


James Wilder 


" 13 " 


" 30 " 


7 


17 .. 


" 12 


Caleb Marshall 


" 13 " 


" 30 " 


7 


17 " 


" 12 


James Burnside 


" 13 .' 


- 30 - 


7 


17 " 


•' 12 


Nathan Caswell 


" 13 '• 


" 30 " 


7 


17 " 


" 12 


James Curtis 


" 13 " 


- 30 " 


7 


17 .. 


" 12" 



After the war was over and the soldiers had been discharged and 
returned to their homes, or sought new places of residence, many of 
their claims for services and rations remained unpaid for a number 
of years, as the treasury of the state was emptied long before its 
debts to its citizen soldiers were settled. To wait for a term of 
years until the treasury was full enough to allow the settlement of 
these claims entailed hardships on many of the men. Their pay 
was very meagre, and as the years of unsettled conditions had gone 
from one to seven, these men were growing older by so much, and 
their chances for promoting their interests had gone by. Many of 
them were not able to prosecute their own claims as they lived at 
too great a distance from the seat of government. It was at this 
time that General Bucknam and other public-spirited men came to 
the relief of these old soldiers and paid their claims and took their 
accounts for collection, accompanied, in man\- instances, b}^ a power 
of attorney. I have before me several dozen of these assignments 
of claims made to Gen. Edwards Bucknam and others. 

Whenever the considerations are mentioned they are always in 
full of the claims transferred, from which we infer that the service 
they thus rendered their fellow soldiers was as noble as the spirit of 
patriotism was strong when they marched together in these wild 



^>8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

regions. Of the number who sold these claims there were some 
who in after years became quite noted citizens in Lancaster. A 
number of the men, who had served under Gen. Moses Hazen 
through a portion of the time, came to Lancaster, drawn here, per- 
haps, by the fact that the old general himself had purchased a 
large tract of land here, and intended to make Lancaster his home. 



CHAPTER LX. 

FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE 
NINETEExNTH CENTURY. 

An Era of Prosperity — Rapid Immigration and Increase of Population 
— -Public Improvements — Establishment of Churches and Schools — 
The Coming of New Industries. 

It must have filled the hearts of the people with joy to learn that 
the war was over and peace declared, and that they could now turn 
their attention to the development of their neglected industries of 
peace. 

At least there was hope that their crippled fortunes might be, in a 
good measure, retrieved, as their lands were productive, and the 
clearings were growing larger in spite of all the interruptions the 
war might have brought them. To the remaining citizens large 
families were growing up, among \vhom were some strong and 
sturdy sons who could be a help to their fathers in clearing lands 
and tilling them, building roads, and hunting and fishing to furnish 
their tables with meats, and furs to clothe the families. The out- 
look was not bright, but there were some encouraging features in it; 
and the brave men and women bent their energies to make the most 
of their situation, as we shall see. The eight years of unsettled 
conditions had consumed much of their substance and time, but 
their hearts were as strong as ever. Their hope had not left them 
for, as some of them had said in the beginning of that time of 
trouble, they had come here to make homes, to live and die here. 
They had braved great dangers in order to stand by the homes the}' 
had builded, and now there was again some hope that they could 
go on and achieve the plans they had laid on coming into this 
region so favorable to the enterprises of pioneers. 

In the early years of the war some families had left, and never 
returned again. A number of the young men had enlisted in the 
Continental Army, and were either lost in the battles of the war, or 
else having followed its fortunes so far into other sections of the 
country that few, if indeed any, of them returned to this first land 
of their choice and hopes. Landowners who might have had seri- 



AN ERA OF PROSPERITY. 89 

ous intentions of locating here never came. Some, discouraged at 
the prospects of safety on their lands, had sold them, so that by the 
close of the war there were new landowners holding titles to large 
tracts of the most valuable lands in the town with no interest in the 
town beyond the hope of some day selling their lands at a large 
profit on their investments. 

Fortunately some of the land sold by the non-resident owners fell 
into the hands of men who were induced to locate upon their new 
purchases, and in a short time proved themselves to be a valuable 
addition to the citizenship of the town. 

Lancaster soon felt the returning tide of prosperity that always 
follows the desolation and waste of war. The people who had suf- 
fered hardships and wants now, through industry and economy, 
began to enjo}- some of the fruits of their many years of toil. New 
families came, and larger social relations and intercourse followed, 
and new and unheard-of enterprises sprang up among the people. 

About the year 1785 the tide of emigration began to move from 
the older towns in the southern part of this state, Massachusetts, and 
Connecticut. This tide of earnest home-seekers moved northward 
along the Connecticut river valley until the advance of it reached 
the Upper Coos country ; and from that class all these northern 
towns can count scores of the most important families that have 
helped to make them what they are to-day. Of that class Lancas- 
ter received many men of the most sterling worth and integrity. 

The first settlements of the town were made at the extreme ends 
of the intervale. The Pages and Stockwells settled at the north end 
on account of the splendid meadow-lands found there ; and it is 
thought that Edwards Bucknam located at the mouth of Beaver 
Brook on account of the extensive beaver meadows there, which 
afforded a supply of grass for his cattle until he could clear the 
lands and raise the domesticated grasses. We know that the beaver 
meadows on Indian brook were mown by David Page for the same 
reason ; and that Thomas Burnside sought the beaver meadows on 
what is now known as Burnside brook for hay to feed his cattle for 
some years until he cleared and cultivated his lands. 

The vast level section along Isreals river had lain uncultivated 
and waiting settlement for twenty years before any one located on it. 

About the year 1786 Stephen Wilson put up a log house on the 
intervale, on the site of which Henry Hilliard now lives, and after- 
wards sold it to Stevenson and moved into the village. A village 
plot, consisting of a houselot for each and every grantee of the 
town, had been surveyed on what is now the meeting-house common, 
and along Pleasant street; but for some reason, unknown to us, the 
proposed village of the charter was never built, but instead every 
man built his house upon his farm lands. 



90 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The village was slow to develop, and until within the recollection 
of men still living consisted of only a few* shopkeepers and their 
shops, with a few impecunious laborers lacking the ambition or ex- 
perience to carry on enterprises of their own. There was nothing 
to encourage the growth of a village, as the earliest settlers all lived 
on farms. It was many years before any other industry than farm- 
ing existed in Lancaster. Until near the beginning of the present 
century the only stocks of goods kept for sale were kept in the 
dwelling houses of the settlers. 

In the year 1786, and for several years following, there came to 
town such men as Capt. John Weeks, Joseph Brackett, William 
Moore, Phineas Hodgdon, Walter and Samuel Philbrook, all from 
the older and more advanced settlements of this state. From Mas- 
sachusetts and Connecticut came Titus O. Brown, Jonas Baker, 
Jonathan Cram, Humphrey Cram, Joseph Wilder, Benjamin Board- 
man, Elisha Wilder. Some of these men possessed considerable 
means, and all of them brought new and larger experiences into the 
new community. They infused new life into it, and greatly .stimu- 
lated the older settlers to renewed efforts. They either had bought 
lands before coming or did shortly after their arrival. As the lands 
had all been divided into even portions and were known and treated 
as rights descending from the original grantees to these later pur- 
chasers, these men got pretty evenly distributed over the township. 
The new arrivals of families pushed the settlement throughout the 
whole length of the river valleys and up over the first highlands, 
which forced upon the attention of the town the question of build- 
ing roads to reach these new homes that were everywhere springing 
up. For more than twenty years following the close of the war the 
town enjoyed the advantage of an expansion of its settlements. The 
little group of homes in the north end was added to until they began 
to push eastward over Page hill ; and in the south end the settle- 
ment surrounding Bucknam grew so large as to push its wa)^ up 
Stebben's hill, and well up to where the village now is. 

The larger bodies of land, that had been bought up by the few 
men of ampler fortunes than the original settlers possessed, began to 
be broken up into smaller holdings to accommodate the new famil- 
ies that were seeking to locate here. 

During this whole period of rapid growth of population, condi- 
tions of domestic life remained in pretty nearly the primitive sim- 
plicity and scantiness that they had been from the very first, owing 
chiefly to the fact of well-nigh impassable roads. Those who had 
the wherewithal of furnishing their homes could not bring much of 
it with them on account of the poor roads, which were little more 
than passable for horseback riders in man)^ places. The first houses 
were but cabins, and their furnishings must have been of the most 



INCREASE OF POPULATION. 9 1 

scanty kind. Upon the arrival of a new family a cabin was built, 
and around it a clearing was begun, which grew from year to year 
into a farm. The first cleared patch was a garden, and afforded the 
family a supply of vegetables for the table, while a good share of 
the meat that was eaten was taken from the streams that then 
swarmed with fish of the choicest kinds, especially salmon and trout, 
and game from the great forests that surrounded them. The do- 
mestic animals were few for a long time. The best, and so far as 
we know the only accurate, description of one of those early homes 
is that preserved in a letter written by Capt. John Weeks to his wife 
in Greenland, N. H., from which place he had emigrated to Lan- 
caster with his son John, then a lad of not more than six years 
old, and built his first house near General Bucknam on the road to 
South Lancaster, on the lands now owned by Sam F. McNally. In 
this interesting missive he says : 

" We shall move into our log house this week. It will be a very 
comfortable one. The logs, all peeled, are smooth and clean. The 
house is eighteen feet wide and twenty feet long. We shall have 
one comfortable room and two bed rooms. Our family now con- 
sists, besides myself, of one hired man, one girl (Patty), one boy 
(John), one cow, one heifer, one sheep, one hog, one pig, one dog, 
one cat, one hen, and one chicken. We also have a pair of geese 
at Coll. Bucknam's, which we shall take home in the fall. You 
would be pleased to see our little family and Patty's management of^ 
it." This letter was written early in the season of 1787, for in 
another written the 17th of June, 1787, Mr. Weeks informs his wife 
that the teacher of the school to which his son John was going, a 
Mr. Bergin, boarded with them the week previous. Those little 
houses were like the proverbial "stage-coach;" there was always 
room in them for another person. When it came Captain Weeks's turn 
to take the schoolmaster for a week I presume there was no complaint 
that his 18x20 house with three rooms, only two of which were bed 
rooms, was too small. They were a hospitable class of pioneers, 
and if their accommodations were not ample they did not hesitate 
to extend them to the sojourner among them. Captain Weeks had 
moved nothing here to furnish his house with except what could be 
carried on the backs of two horses ridden by his son John Wingate, 
and his daughter Patty (Martha who married Edward Spaulding), 
while he drove his cattle. This w^as in the early spring of 1787, 
and his wife and other children followed in the fall of that year 
through the Notch of the White Mountains. Mrs. Weeks made the 
journey on horseback carrying her seven months' old child (after- 
ward Mrs. A. N. Brackett) in her arms, and her youngest son, 
James Brackett Weeks, on the horse behind her. 

These newcomers were welcomed by the original settlers, and as 



92 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

they were generally men of wider experience they rose to prom- 
inence in the management of local and state affairs. Captain Weeks 
was chosen as the delegate of the district (consisting of Lancaster, 
Northumberland, Stratford, Dartmouth, Cockburnc, Colburne and 
Percy) to the convention that ratified the Federal constitution. He 
was one of the fifty-seven delegates voting in favor of the constitu- 
tion as against forty-six voting in the negative. In i 792 he repre- 
sented the town in the general court, and held many other ofifices in 
the town. Those were days when a man was considered for his 
worth and abilities rather than the length of his residence in the 
town, or the fact that he was born in it. So all these newcomers 
fitted into some useful relation to the new community in which the\- 
had cast their lot, and the lapse of time made them a homogeneous 
community. 

Midway between General Bucknam's place and Isreals river Bry- 
ant Stevenson had taken up his residence at an earlier day, on 
lands formerly owned by Col. Stephen Wilson, and now owned by 
Capt. H. S. Hilliard. Capt. Stevenson was interested in the schools 
of the town, and was for many years clerk of District No. 2. 

So rapid had been the increase of families in town that the num- 
ber of taxpayers had increased from ten in 1783 to fifty-nine in 
1795' siicl there were ninety-one voters in 1799; and a year later 
the entire population had reached four hundred and forty. 

About 1790 the settlement began to push up toward the higher 
lands around Mts. Pleasant and Prospect. John Mclntire, a man of 
remarkable powers of body and mind, though not as well educated 
as his fellow townsmen, settled on the northerly slope of Mt. Pleas- 
ant. Here he developed a productive farm, and reared a large famil\' 
of sixteen children. Mr. Mclntire was born in York, Me., Jan i, 1765, 
and at the early age of sixteen volunteered as a soldier in the Revo- 
lutionary army. His education was thus neglected, but he developed 
a ruggedness of body and mind that, in a large part, made up for 
the deficiency of his schooling. He was a man of sterling moral in- 
tegrity and patriotism. It is said that he came into Lancaster at the 
age of twenty-five with a yoke of oxen, an axe, and a bushel of salt 
as his entire capital of worldly goods. He at once set to work and 
carved a home out of the forest. Few men were held in higher es- 
teem than he was. He married Sally Stockwell, second daughter of 
Ruth Page and Emmons Stockwell. To them were born eleven 
children — John, Sallie, William, Mary, Mercy. Silas, Samuel, Susan, 
Emmons, Dorothy, and Eben. 

On September 19, 18 12, his wife died. About a year later he 
married Susanna Bucknam, the sixth daughter of P^^dwards Buck- 
nam, and a cousin to his first wife. To them were born five chil- 
dren — Eunice, Edward, James, Jane, and Laura. His second wife 



INCREASE OF POPULATION. 93 

died July 23, 1832, and he followed her April 5, 1850. He left an 
honored memory and a snug fortune to his many children who sur- 
vived him, and who have been among the best citizens of the 
town. 

About the time that we are now speaking of, Edward Spaulding, 
a lineal descendant of the noted Mrs. Dustin, settled on the northern 
slope of Mt. Pleasant, a near neighbor to John Mclntire. He was 
the son of Daniel Spaulding (whose wife was Phebe Dustin), born 
in Londonderry, N. H., and carried in his mother's arms to North- 
umberland in May, 1769, where they began life in a log cabin. 
These young emigrants started for this region, with a few articles for 
housekeeping, traveling on horseback. They reached Haverhill, 
from which point there was only a path to their destination in North- 
umberland. They tarried over night with some family, and in their 
haste to get ready in the morning Mrs. Spaulding sat her baby down 
upon the floor for a moment, when he crawled to the fireplace and 
pulled a kettle of hot water over upon himself, scalding his feet. In 
consequence of this accident, it was decided that Mr. Spaulding 
should go on alone to the north and leave his wife and child, to re- 
turn for them in a short time. But not returning, as she expected 
him to do, on a given date, Mrs. Spaulding set out on foot to find 
her husband, carrying her baby in her arms, with a small copper tea- 
kettle, in which were packed some parcels of garden seeds to plant 
when they got to their new home (this teakettle is now in the pos- 
session of her great-granddaughter, Mrs. Debby A. Kent, in Lan- 
caster). She traveled all day alone by a path marked by blazed 
trees. Just as night was settling down upon her she reached what is 
now known as " Streeter's Pond," which she would have to ford. She 
decided to wait until morning before making the venture. She 
looked about her for the best shelter she could find, and having dis- 
posed of her sleeping child and buried her kettle of priceless seeds, she 
sank down, tired and lonely, to wait for the coming of the morning 
light which should enable her to press on to the north to find her 
husband, whom she feared had met with some misfortune, as he had 
not returned for her as soon as she had expected. Tired and anx- 
ious, she thought she would keep a sleepless vigil over her sleeping 
child to shield it from harm ; but her exhausted nature found re- 
freshment in a sound sleep that continued until the dawn of the 
morning for which she felt so anxious. She immediately renewed 
her journey with the determination not to spend another night alone 
in the forest. Just as the sun was casting its last slanting rays on 
the hilltops she spied a house in the distance. She had reached 
Lancaster, where she was made welcome and comfortable over the 
night. She started the next morning to make the last six miles of 
her long and lonely journey, not knowing what fate might have be- 



94 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

fallen her husband. She found him there just ready to return for 
her, after having delayed to erect a cabin to receive her. 

Here they resided for many years. When Edward was about 2i 
years of age he married Martha Weeks and began the clearing of 
the farm we have mentioned. Martha Weeks was born in Green- 
land, N. H., Dec. 20, 1 77 1, and came to Lancaster with her father 
and brother, John W. Weeks, in 1786. Mrs. Spaulding was a re- 
markable woman, well fitted to be the wife of such a sturdy pioneer 
as was Mr. Spaulding. She was the mother of six children — Edward 
C, John W., William D., James B., Eliza W. (married William 
Moore), Martha B. (married Charles D. Stebbins). Mrs. Spauld- 
ing lived to be nearly a hundred years old, having lived till 1871. 
She survived her husband some twenty-six years, he having died in 
1845, at the age of seventy-nine. 

Eor ten years their first house, a log cabin, was small and without 
a floor. Then was built the house still standing on the old farm, 
and now owned and occupied by James S. Peavey. Here Mrs. 
Spaulding spent eighty-one years of her life, and was at the time of 
her death the only person who had come to Lancaster as one of its 
original settlers. The descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding are 
numerous, and have always occupied prominent places in the town. 
John Hubbard Spaulding, a grandson of Edward and Martha Spauld- 
ing, assisted in building the first hotel on Mount Washington, and 
for some years conducted both the Summit and the Tip-Top houses. 
He also wrote a very interesting and valuable " Guide, and Histori- 
cal Records of the White Mountains," and various other matters of 
interest. 
^ It was in 1793 that Lancaster hospitably welcomed her first law- 

yer in the person of Richard Claire Everett. Mr. Everett first came 
to Lancaster in 1782. He was then a mere youth of eighteen years. 
He had but recently been discharged from the Revolutionary army, 
after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., and with a Mr. 
Blake and his wife came to Lancaster in search of a home. It is 
said that this party came here from Providence, R. I., with all their 
earthly effects loaded upon the back of one horse, and the three 
adult persons walked, and carried loads themselves. As Mr. Blake 
was loaded nearly as heavy as his horse, and his wife less able than 
young Everett to carry a baby, he brought it in his arms all the 
way. He was an orphan boy, and having learned to help himself, 
had also learned to make himself helpful to others ; and all through 
his life this trait was characteristic of the man. It is said that his 
extreme youthfulness and conditions excited the interest of General 
Washington in him, and that he assigned the sixteen-year-old boy to 
some personal service about his headquarters. If he had served the 
"Father of his country," why not his friends in this menial capacity? 




Richard Clair Everett. 

The first lawyer and judge in Coos county. 




, .^'i''^ 



Adino N. Brackett. 





Sali.v, \Vid(j\v of 
Gen. Edwards Bucknam. 

(Taken on her rooth birthdav.) 



Maj. John W. Weeks. 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 95 

Both young Everett and Blake went to work for Major Wilder 
soon after coming here, and remained for some time in his service. 
These two men hauled salt through the White Mountain Notch 
for Major Wilder in the winter of 1782 ; and as the road was but a 
path they had to clear it much of the way in order to allow of a sled 
passing. 

Feeling that his whole dependence was upon himself, young 
Everett was industrious and economical, for he wanted to improve 
his education. He went to Hanover in the spring of 1783 to fit 
himself for college, and by much persistent effort he was making 
some progress in his undertaking when he suddenly discovered him- 
self the heir to quite a sum of money, which he secured. He now 
found his way open for an education, and in due time was graduated 
from Dartmouth college. He next turned his attention to the study 
of law as a profession, with the intention of locating in Lancaster. 
Having completed his law studies, and being admitted to practice, 
he came to Lancaster in the spring of 1793, and soon was married 
to Persis, daughter of Maj. Jonas Wilder, to whom he had been 
engaged for a period of seven or eight years. During the fall and 
winter of that year he built the house now standing on the corner 
of Main and High streets, known as the " Cross House," it having 
been for a long time occupied by Col. Ephraim Cross, his son-in-law.^ 

Mr. Everett at once began to build up a law practice, and for 
many years was the leading lawyer in town. He was identified with 
many industries and enterprises in the town, was always public- 
spirited, and did much to foster the interests of the community. 
For eleven years he attended the court sessions at Haverhill, the 
shire town of Grafton county. Tradition says that he exercised a 
potent influence in securing the erection of the new county of Coos 
in 1803. He was the first to bear to Lancaster the welcome news 
that the spring term of the Court of Common Pleas for 1805 would 
be held in Lancaster, and at once set about getting ready to enter- 
tain the court oflficers and lawyers that were expected to attend it. 
He built an addition to his house which was just large enough for 
his family. This addition, the north end of the present house above 
referred to, was to contain the guest-rooms for the distinguished 
people connected with work of the court. Tradition says that Judge 
Livermore, Daniel Webster, Levi Woodbury, Ichabod Bartlett, and 
Joseph Bell, among the old-time distinguished lawyers and jurists, 
have been entertained in those rooms. There was at that time no 
public house in Lancaster. Major Wilder kept transient travelers 
through the town in his spacious dwelling-house, now known as the 
" Holton Place," at the north end of Main street. This house, the 
first two-story frame house in town, was built in 1780. Religious 
services were held in it, and various other public assemblages con- 



96 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

vened there until there was a church building, and hotels, and halls 
erected for their convenience. 

This influx of population hastened the opening- up of better roads, 
and established better communication with the outside world. As 
we have seen elsewhere in speaking particularly of the roads, there 
was not a passably good road for vehicles of any kind into Lancaster 
from any of the centres of trade from which the people must be 
supplied with such articles as they could not produce themselves at 
home. There was a sled road to Portland soon after 1780, and a 
poor road to Haverhill, N. H. The river afforded the best road to 
the lower towns; but that was only passable a few months in mid- 
winter, with some elements of treachery even in that. 

For several years after the first settlers came here there was no 
mill for grinding breadstuffs nearer than No. 4 (Charlestown), more 
than one hundred and twenty miles distant. No bulky furniture, or 
any large implements of industry could be transported for several 
years as the roads did not admit of the passage of loaded vehicles 
of transportation. Only the smaller articles that could be packed 
upon horses or oxen could be brought through the narrow and 
uneven paths the emigrants were compelled to travel over. These 
inconveniences were, in a large part, overcome by the inherent 
genius and determination of the people to succeed. They had evi- 
dently made up their minds to endure hardships and privations, in 
short, to make the most of circumstances that were not favorable to 
comfort. The men made all the implements they used with a few 
simple hand-tools they brought with them, such as axes, saws, 
augurs, and drawing-knife. Every pioneer was probably more or 
less skilled in the use of these simple tools by which so much has 
been accomplished in the development of the industries of every 
civilized countr}'. I have seen, in the Alleghany Mountains, fifty 
miles beyond where a vehicle had ever penetrated, houses, and their 
furnishings made by the use of these few tools, and in which there 
was no metal used at all. 

It was not until far into the present century that Lancaster cast 
aside its simple constructions for the more artistic ones of the fac- 
tory and machine shops. Every home was a sort of manufactory of 
the things most essential to pioneer life, and so remained, to a large 
extent, until about 1825. Much of their clothing was made in the 
homes from wool and flax of their own production. Their leather 
was tanned at home by Dennis Stanley and others. Moose skins 
were dressed and made into moccasins, which they spelled ** moga- 
sheens," at first, and later " mogershins." I find that General Buck- 
nam was skilled in that kind of work, and that he made moccasins 
and leather breeches for his neighbors, and for Col. Joseph Whipple, 
to be taken to other places for barter or sale. 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 97 

Among the first wants of the community that could not be met 
by every man for himself, were a mill, a blacksmith shop, and a tan- 
yard. 

When the families had grown too large, or the people's time was 
too valuable for so slow a process as grinding, or rather crushing, 
their grain in a wooden mortar, a mill became manifestly the great- 
est need of their times. This, it is said, was sought to be supplied 
by the erection of some sort of a mill run by horse-power some- 
where at the north end of Main street; but for some reason it 
proved to be a failure and was soon abandoned. 

David Page tried to meet this urgent want of the settlement by 
the erection of a small mill on Indian brook, directly north of Bun- 
ker Hill, taking advantage of an old beaver dam as his supply of 
water and where a suf^cient fall was had to meet the requirements 
of a tolerable water power. After this mill had been in operation 
for some time, and no doubt was looked upon as a great blessing 
and the pride of the town, it took fire one night and all but its name 
was swept out of existence. 

The heart of Governor Page was no doubt heavy at this terrible 
calamity ; but the people who had come to look upon it as one of 
the handiest of their institutions must have felt equally, if not more, 
disappointed than its owner, for they had tired of the wooden pestle 
and its coarse meal, and had become accustomed to a finer bread 
produced from the meal made at Governor Page's mill. Their cul- 
tivated taste that had been catered to by the finer product of this 
mill, received a shock that appealed to their sympathies and gener- 
osity, and at the next town-meeting an appropriation of money was 
voted to David Page to help him rebuild his mill. The appropri- 
ation was a generous sum for those times, as it amounted to eighty- 
four pounds. This was voted at a meeting held June 8, 1773, and 
paid Oct. 19, 1778, as shown by a receipt from Page to Colonel 
Bucknam who was collector for the proprietors. This tax amounted 
to four dollars on each of the seventy landholders at that date. 
Another sum of sixty-six pounds was voted Governor Page at a 
meeting held Dec. 4, 1774, and paid June 13, 1774, for which I 
have the receipt given by Page to Bucknam. This last sum seems 
to have been given because Governor Page abandoned his old site 
on Indian brook and located his new mill on the south fork of 
Isreals river, just under the sand hill. To this mill he added a saw- 
mill, which was, no doubt, the cause of an addition to the sum 
voted a little less than a year before. From this fact we see that 
the people had stirred themselves to assist Governor Page in build- 
ing these mills to meet growing wants in the settlement. They had 
now given a bonus of one hundred and fifty pounds to Governor 
Page to encourage his enterprises. At his mills was evidently sawed 
s 



98 ' HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the lumber for the first frame houses in town. Emmons Stockwell 
erected a small frame building, now standing as the ell part of the 
dwelling-house on the old Stockwell place. Here at Page's saw- 
mill Major Wilder must have got the sawed lumber for his two-story 
house (the Holton house), for his own sawmill and grist-mill on 
Isreals river, just back of Whitney's Granite Works, was not built 
until 1 78 1, and his house was built in 1780. 

The proprietors had voted, March 10, 1767, to give David Page 
two hundred acres of land as a reward for bringing a set of black- 
smith's tools and maintaining a shop in town. We cannot learn 
with certainty whether Mr. Page ever complied with these conditions, 
and built, and kept such a shop or not; but tradition says that the 
first blacksmith shop was established at the north end of the present 
village precinct at a very early day. One tradition places it on 
Major Wilder's lands near the north end of Main street. Be it as it 
may, the first shop was evidently kept somewhere in that locality. 
At a later date a Scotchman by the name of Clark Braden estab- 
lished his smithy at the south end of the town near the Bucknam 
neighborhood, and for many years conducted a business there. 
The reader will find the subject treated at length in Part II, Chapter 
VII. 

As we have seen, the tan-yard of Dennis Stanley was located here 
at a very early day, probably about 1778. For many years he did 
the business for the community, but when he became an old man 
and gave up the business another tannery was started, this time in 
the village on Elm street, by David Burnside, opposite the S. W, 
Cooper house. 

Another public improvement that soon concerned the people was 
some means of crossing the Connecticut river at all times with safety 
and convenience. The rich meadow lands across the river had led 
the very first settlers to make clearings on the Vermont side, and 
soon a number of important families located there, so that after a 
lapse of twenty years there were living just across the river in 
Guildhall and Lunenburg a number of families that found it con- 
venient to trade in Lancaster. Common interests bound them 
closely together, and it soon concerned them to have some means 
of crossing the river with teams. It gave them no trouble to cross 
in the earlier days, as every man would jump into his canoe and 
paddle across the stream with ease ; but now had come a time 
when people living on either side of the river wanted to cross it with 
their teams. A bridge was out of the question for them. Their 
only hope lay in a ferry. 

Edwards Bucknam, the natural leader of the communit}-, came 
forward with the scheme of establishing a ferry. This enterprise, 
however, would cost a considerable sum to equip and maintain; 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 99 

and unless one could be reasonably sure of controlling the business 
for a term of years it would prove unprofitable. So a charter was 
thought of as a means of protection of the interests of the invest- 
ment, and Bucknam sought such charter of the general court by 
petition in 1784, for a ferry at the falls in Northumberland. The 
petition for this charter is an interesting document, and we present 
it here as illustrating the manner of doing business in those early 
days. It is as follows : 

''The Petition of Edwards Bucknam of Lancaster in the County of Grafton in 
said State Humbly Sheweth that there are Cateracts or falls in the River Con- 
necticut adjoining Northumberland in said County convenient for building mills 
and for keeping a ferry boat. 

" Your Petitioner is Now Actually erecting a set of mills both for sawing and 
grinding on said falls. Therefore prays that the Honorable Court would be 
pleased to grant and convey unto him his heirs and assigns the priveledge of 
using and improving the Earth and Waters between the Easterly and Westerly 
Banks of said River in Width ; and in length the Distance of one mile Each way 
from the center of said falls." 

This petition was favored by the grant of a charter, and Bucknam 
kept a ferry there for a number of years, and then leased it as he 
did also with his mills. 

Bucknam's ferry was not entirely satisfactory to Lancaster people, 
and in 1792 they petitioned the legislature for a charter to be 
vested in the town as public property. This petition was signed by 
some of the most influential men in town, but the legislature refused 
to grant it. To that document I find the names of the following 
persons attached : John Weeks, Emmons Stockwell, Jonas Baker, 
Jonas Wilder, Joseph Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, and Joseph 
Brackett. The objection to granting a charter to the town is not 
known to me ; but the same year the legislature granted a charter 
to Eleazar Rosebrook on the following petition : 

" Lancaster, June i, 1792. 

" To the Hon' General Court to be convened at Dover in said State the first 
Wednesday of said June — 

Humbly Sheweth Eleazar Rosebrook — that he has opened and kept a Ferry 
across Connecticutt River at said Lancaster for several years past by means of 
which the public have been considerably benefited — and that during the time 
which he has kept said ferry it has been rather an Expense to him than otherwise, 
and most probably no great advantage can arise thereby for some time yet to 
come, though it may be profitable at some future period — whereof he prays Your 
Honors to grant him his heirs and assigns the exclusive priviledge of keeping a 
ferry across said River under such restrictions and regulations as may appear 
proper and your Petitioner will ever Pray." 

This petition, with the one referred to above, was acted upon 
some months after presented, from which we infer that the legisla- 
ture took time to duly consider matters of this nature. Rosebrook's 

LofC. 



lOO HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

petition was granted, and a charter issued to him authorizing him to 
keep a ferry between Lancaster and Guildhall for the term of forty 
years, after which the right was to be vested in the town of Lancas- 
ter. Rosebrook's right was exclusive, with the exception that the 
town might keep all other ferries that be needed to accommodate 
travel between the towns adjacent to Lancaster. We shall see, in 
the chapter on roads, that John Weeks kept a ferry at the south 
end of the town for the convenience of the people wishing to reach 
the lower settlement from Lunenburg ; and as the two towns were 
settled at the same time, and under the management of David Page, 
intercourse between them was desirable. Communication could be 
had with less travel to the Bucknam neighborhood than that farther 
up the river where Governor Page lived. 

Those ferries were of more benefit to Lancaster, financially, than 
to the other two towns that they connected with it, as it drew trade 
to Lancaster, which was on the more direct roads to Haverhill and 
Portland. 

The new community, then growing rapidly, had other concerns 
that engaged the attention of the people and showed the enterprise 
and character of its citizens. 

From the earliest times the people had subsisted largely upon 
fish taken from the brooks and the Connecticut river. Every brook 
was full of the choicest trout, and the Great river, as they called the 
Connecticut, was abundantly stocked with salmon. Every family, it 
is said, made it a rule to salt down a barrel of salmon every year in 
the season for them. This was considered an evidence of prudence 
and thrift; and if any family fell short of making this necessary 
provision for the many months that would intervene before the next 
return of these fish, they were considered improvident, and were 
subject to some degree of condemnation or reproach among their 
more prudent neighbors. 

This condition of affairs pertaining to salmon lasted about twenty 
years, when it became evident that this important source of their 
choicest food was rapidly giving out, and scarcity would be expected 
unless the free ascent of the river be guaranteed the fish. The 
people lower down the stream were taking, what seemed to the 
people of this section, an unfair advantage over the salmon by 
erecting dams, pots, and weirs in the rapids of the river. By these 
devices the fish were stopped almost entirely from reaching the 
upper portion of the river. The people in this town began to feel 
the evil effects of such wholesale slaughter of the salmon, and could 
no longer provide themselves the necessary amount of salted fish 
to carry them through the busy seasons of the year. They stood 
it until the spring of 1788, when the fishermen about Walpole 
obstructed the stream with their pots and other devices at Bellows 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. lOI 

Falls to that extent that salmon were so scarce that fishing no 
longer yielded any meat to Lancaster. 

The people were incensed at such manifest unfairness in fishing, 
and at once sought to bring the matter to the attention of the legis- 
lature in hopes of having a stop put to that method of fishing. 
Accordingly a petition was drawn up and signed by some of the 
most influential men in Lancaster. This was their only resource, 
and they availed themselves of it in plain language, asking what 
seems only a fair measure of encouragement to the brave men and 
women who had put such a long distance between themselves and 
the ordinary sources of food supply. Their petition was as follows : 

" State of New Hampshire ) " To the Honorable General Court of the State 

Lancaster May, 17, 1788. S of New Hampshire 

"The Petition of the inhabitants of Lancaster, Dartmouth, Northumberland 
and Stratford and other inhabitants on Connecticutt River above Charlestown — 

" Humbly Sheweth : — that there is a Create Number of Parsons that Live on & 
Near Connecticutt River, that make it their Business in the Time of the year that 
Salmon are going up said River, to set Nets or Seens acrost the River in the 
Neight & other times, which Stop all the Salmon, and also Put or Place in Weres 
a sort of Pound or Pots in the Very Perticular Places where Salmon Pass or git up 
the Rapids in said River and Perticularly in the Crete falls at Walpole called 
Bellow's Falls, where a Number of Parsons have combined together, and have 
placed in them Pots or Pounds in the only Places where the Salmon can pass or 
git up Said falls, as there is But one or two Places that they Can any ways Pass ; 
which in all Probability will Stop Every Salmon, as they have almost Done it in 
years Past. That those Parsons among us who used to Stabb with their Spears 
18 or 20 Salmon in a Neight, they can now scarcely see a Salmon to Catch and if 
there Cant be some Stop to those obstructions — we that are settling and Cultiva- 
ting the New lands & at a great Distance from the Sea Coast, must be Deprived 
of what the alwise being has in his Wisdom Provided for us, therefore your 
Petitioners — Pray that your Honors would take it under your wise Consideration, 
and Pass Such act or acts that will Prevent any and all such Stoppages of the 
Salmon being made in Connecticutt River through this State — and your Peti- 
tioners will Pray — 

Edwards Bucknam Joseph Brackett 

Jonas Baker Walter Philbrook 

Samuel Johnson Francis Wilson." 

John Weeks 

This action led to some restrictions being placed upon the stop- 
page of the stream by the means complained of in the petition, and 
salmon continued to be reasonably plenty until some twenty years 
later after dams were built across the river at several points. The 
fish found so many obstructions placed in their way that they did 
not reach points as high as Lancaster in quantities any longer. 
They gradually grew less, and at last entirely disappeared. Other, 
but inferior, kinds of fish continued plenty for many years ; but 
since so many sawmills and other factories have multiplied and pol- 
luted the water, these have grown less plentiful. For many years 
the little pickerel hav^e been taken in considerable numbers in Lan- 



102 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

caster. A few black bass are caught. The common river suckers 
are quite plenty, but the cultivated taste of the people eschews 
sucker these days. For many years the brook trout continued 
plentiful, but even they are now scarce with all the effort the state 
makes to stock the brooks. 

As the fish supply gave out the people began to give more atten- 
tion to raising their meats. They soon found that more reliance 
could be placed upon a well-stocked farm than a river that cunning 
men below them could seine or dam and clear of its fish so easily as 
appears from their complaint in the above petition. From 1790 
to the beginning of the present century the number of swine, sheep, 
and cattle increased so rapidly that increased attention must have 
been given to the breeding of these animals with a view to meeting 
the increasing demand for meats. 

The hunting of wild game became less and less an avocation and 
partook more and more of the nature of a sport. It is related of 
one Caswell, a worthless sort of a hunter, that he started in one win- 
ter during the period of which we are speaking to kill a hundred 
moose. It appears that he came very near filling his number, leav- 
ing the carcasses to lie upon the ground to rot. The people be- 
came so incensed, however, at his diabolical waste that they banded 
together and drove him out of the country by threats of dealing 
summary vengeance upon him if caught. 

Hunting as a recreation and sport has always continued a chief 
feature of Lancaster life. Almost everybody hunts and fishes at 
some season of the year yet, though game has not been plentiful for 
many years. 

For more than a century past hunting and fishing afforded the 
chief respite from toil and the monotony of country life, and many 
a jolly party of the hard-working pioneers made the woods resound 
with the discharge of their old smooth-bores and fiint-locks, and the 
hearty laugh at the fine shots one another made, or did not make. 
Interesting anecdotes have come down to us of their hunting bouts, 
brave or cowardly encounters with bears and other fierce, wild ani- 
mals. The strategy or bravery one displayed in the chase won for 
him the praise of his neighbors, and guaranteed the connection of 
his name with the best stories that would be told by the crowd that 
gathered in the stores and taverns after the day's work was done. It 
is fair to presume that then, as now, a fish grew more rapidly in the 
stories told about it than it did in the river or brook ; and that the 
bears were much more fierce in the story than they were in the 
woods, for there is no animal that exceeds a bear in cowardice. But 
it afforded pleasure to those old-time hunters to bring in a good lot 
of game, and it probably did not partake of that barbarous spirit 
that characterizes our modern so-called sportsmen, who go about 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. IO3 

the forest destroying animal life in the most indiscriminate manner, 
as if to merely kill some inoffensive animal afforded pleasure or 
was an evidence of skill. There is but little gunning done to-day 
that would not bring the blush of shame to the faces of our grand- 
fathers if they could behold their degenerate offspring indiscrimi- 
nately destroying innocent and useful animal life that can neither 
give advantage nor pleasure to a man with a heart of flesh in him 
and an enlightened mind. Fortunately our law-makers have of late 
years been striving to afford animal life some protection against the 
degenerate brutes in human guise. Lancaster was one of the first 
towns to see the necessity of such protection ; and for many years 
it has lent the weight of public opinion to every endeavor to limit 
useless waste of animal life, and to encourage the increase of fish 
and game. 

Another question that deeply concerned the town was that of its 
back taxes. As we have seen, the taxes during the war and imme- 
diately after it, fell very heavily upon the people who had about ex- 
hausted all their resources to defend themselves, and as they be- 
lieved, the country below them from invasion by the British army 
and its allies. This was, to a considerable extent, true so far as 
stopping the French and Indians from reaching points lower down 
the river which they no doubt would have done but for the prompt 
action of these few upper towns. This, the people thought, en- 
titled them to some recompense or release from taxes that fell so 
heavily upon them at the time as to forebode much difficulty and 
suffering if they had to be paid at a time of such great scarcity of 
everything that could be converted into money. Besides they had 
expended a sum more than equal to all the tax claims of the state 
against them to support the scouts, build forts, and repulse the in- 
vaders during the war. All this they either taxed themselves for or 
generously advanced at the time it was needed. With the excep- 
tion of a little assistance at the. very outset of the Revolution by a 
single company of soldiers, these men had fought their own battles, 
or rather got ready to fight them, as they supposed they should be 
called upon to do, and stood guard at what was agreed by all to be 
a very vulnerable point on the frontier of the country. It was only 
fair that they should now at this time appeal to the state to render 
them some relief either by allowing their bills for services rendered, 
or through the abatement of all or a portion of the large tax bills. 
The people went to the legislature and asked an accounting and gen- 
erous consideration of their unfavorable situation. The matter hav- 
ing been brought before the house of representatives was referred to 
a committee that reported to the house on February 22, 1786, a 
recommendation of abatement to offset all the claims of the town 
against the state for scouting services, building forts, and other sup- 



104 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

plies during the war. These taxes had been levied to furnish army 
supplies ; and here was a little band of men who supplied them- 
selves the same things that the state was furnishing to other soldiers 
in the field, but not to these Upper Coos men. That committee 
grouped together in their recommendations Lancaster, Dartmouth, 
Northumberland and Stratford, giving the same relief to them all. 
This was a wise measure, one best calculated to accomplish the 
relief that was asked for; and the people received it with glad 
hearts. What they had done during the war was cheerfully done, 
but at the same time it exhausted their limited means to a degree 
that made it a great sacrifice. Had they been required to pay 
these taxes they would have been bearing a double burden, unless 
their claims for services and supplies had been allowed. The legis- 
lature took into account the facts that these people lived far re- 
moved from the rest of the population of the state, their constant 
exposure to a savage enemy, the discouragements of the people due 
to the withdrawal of so many of their young men to enter the Con- 
tinental army, and the desertion of others, the amount of time the 
inhabitants of these towns had spent in the service of their country 
on an exposed frontier in scouting and building forts, and that their 
continuing in this threatened section and keeping their families here 
was a great advantage to the state as it relieved it from keeping an 
army here to hold the savage allies of the British army in check, al- 
lowing the use of the regular soldiers at other points of greater 
advantage to the cause of American independence. Following the 
recital of all these generous acts on the part of these Upper Coos 
towns that committee closed their report as follows : 

"Your committee, therefore beg leaf to report, as their unanimous opinion, 
that said towns be discharged from all arrearages of taxes for soldiers, beef, rum, 
and all other requisitions on them by this state prior to the year 1784 ; and that 
the Treasurer be directed to discharge the same accordingly ; and that full abate- 
ment or discharge of taxes be considered as a full satisfaction for all accounts of 
scouting, alarms &c which said towns may have against the state to the present 
time." 

This measure afforded the people great relief, and no doubt had 
some weight in influencing home-seekers to locate here. It added 
to the value of the lands then being put upon the market by many 
of the non-resident owners. The people went about their tasks, no 
doubt, with lighter hearts. Their burdensome taxes were cancelled 
by an uncertain account against the state. 

In the year 1786 a new valuation of the towns was returned. The 
return for Lancaster is interesting as showing the ability of the peo- 
ple to pay taxes in that year. The rate was one half of one per 
cent, of the nominal value of property, and yielded the following 
sum of taxes, which I give just as it stands on the town records 
against the several taxpayers, resident and non-resident: 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, 



105 



" Jonas Wilder 
Capt. D. Page 
Lt, Emmons Stockwell 
Edwards Bucknam 
Moses Page 
Dennis Stanley 
Saml. Johnson 
James Mchard 
Steph. Jennison 
Richd. Stalbird 
Elisha Wilder 
Walter Bloss 
Jonath. Willard 
Peter Blanchard 
William Johnson 
Eph. Griggs 
Jonath. Hartwell 

Darby* 
Joseph Lacoos 
John Wilder 



£6- 



3 


15 


10. 


2 


15 


GO. 


2 


19 


6. 


2 


2 


7- 


2 


10 


6. 


I 


9 


6. 


I 


3 


6. 




12 


00. 




17 


00. 


I 


6 


GO. 




14 


OG. 




16 


GG. 




14 


00. 




12 


OG. 




12 


00. 




12 


OG. 




12 


OG. 




12 


GG. 




12 


GO. 



Non-resident valuation. 



.^31 II- 



Gen. Moses Hazen 


has 24 righ 


ts at - 


oar 


ght at 






ye half of i Pr cent is . 




3 


12 


00. 


John Molineaux 


5 rights in Cat Bow 




I 


IG 


OG. 


Jacob Treadwell 


2 do . 






6 


GO. 


Ami Cutter 


I do . 










3 


GG. 


Henry Prescott 


2 do . 










6 


GO. 


Meshech Weare 


I do . 










3 


OG. 


Capt. Weeks 


2 do . 










6 


OG. 


Moses Blake 


I do . 










3 


GO. 


C. Ward Apthorp 


7 rights 








I 


I 


GO. 






£7- 


-10 — 


— GG. 


Total . 










■ £39— 


— I — 


— 9- 



This interesting record presents some very important features to 
the student of Lancaster's history. Here we have an entire, nominal 
valuation of less than forty thousand dollars held by twenty-nine 
persons, nine of whom are non-residents holding forty-five seven- 
tieths (45-70) of the lands of the entire township, and paying ^y, 
10 s., while the twenty men holding twenty-five seventieths 
(25-70) of the lands paid £^,1, 1 1 s., 9 d., or more than 62 per- 
cent, of the entire tax. 

More than that, the non-residents refused to pay their taxes, in 
many instances, and made it necessary for the resident taxpayers to 
sell the lands of the non-residents. They generally got the taxes 
collected in this way, and at the same time it put some of the lands 



*This was probably Isaac Darby, the noted old miller and gunsmith, of whom many anecdotes 
are told. 



I06 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

held for speculative purposes on the market so that actual settlers 
could buy it. Some of the non-residents were men of good purposes ; 
they bought land with the expectation of settling upon it; but in 
some instances like that of General Hazen, misfortune prevented 
them from carrying out their designs, which had they been able to 
do the community would have greatly profited by it. More than a 
mile square of these lands formerly held by non-residents had fallen 
into the hands of Major Jonas Wilder, who appears from the above 
valuation, to have been the richest man in town in 1786. His hold- 
ings extended from the " Holton place" to Isreals river and to a 
point near where the Boston and Maine railroad crosses the river, 
thus giving him the finest lot of land in town, and upon which the 
village was destined to be built. He had moved upon his large 
tract and built an elegant house, and had shown himself one of the 
most hospitable of men. His house was the temporary home of any 
emigrant who came this way in search of a place to build up a home 
of his own. Town meetings and religious services were held in his 
house. In every way he had proven himself in hearty accord with 
the people. The other men of considerable means were David Page^ 
Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam, Moses Page, Dennis Stanley, 
Samuel Johnson, James Mchard, and Richard Stalbird. These nine 
men paid more than half of the taxes at the time of which we are 
speaking. The wealth of those men was in lands they had im- 
proved. There was very little property outside of lands and their im- 
provements at that time. Unimproved lands had a nominal value of 
thirty pounds per right of over two hundred and seventy acres. 
Thus we see how the burden of taxation fell upon the hard toil of 
the men who had done so much to settle the town. There need be 
little wonder if men should have grown tired of that sort of thing 
and sought a way to equalize the burden of taxes, for they were a 
burden. The proportion of the taxes that fell upon the labor of the 
community was too great. The question of it had been growing 
more and more serious every year for at least a decade, and now the 
time had come when the injustice could be borne no longer. The 
matter had, no doubt, been discussed at every fireside in town, and 
at every chance meeting of the taxpayers. It was now thought 
best to discuss it in a special town meeting where some action could 
be taken to bring the matter to some sort of test and settlement. 
Accordingly the selectmen called a meeting of the voters at the house 
of Major VVilder as the following notice or warrant shows : 

"Whereas Sundry Persons inhabitants of the Town of Lancaster have repre- 
sented to us the subscribers, that it is necessary there should be a meeting called 
of all the male inhabitants of said town to consider and act on several matters for 
the benefit of the inhabitants thereof and the good of the Publick — When met first 
to chose a moderator to Govern said meeting — 2nd. To see if the town will raise 
any money to repair the roads in said Town or to Hire Preaching a few more 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 10/ 

Sundays or for schools etc. — 3rd. To see if the Town will agree to and sign a 
Petition to send to the General Court of the State of New Hampshire for a tax of 
3 pence on each acre of Land on the whole Town of Lancaster for the purpose of 
making a Bridge over Isreals River & repairing roads etc. 4th. To chose some 
Person to attend on the General Court at Charlestown the 2nd Wednesday of 
Sept. next to carry in said Petition to said Court & also to raise some money for the 
Purpose of Gitting said Petition through Court or for the expense of any Person 
that may undertake the Business in Behalf of the town. Therefore we the sub- 
scribers do hereby notify and warn all the male inhabitants and voters of the 
Town of Lancaster to meet at the Dwelling House of Major Jonas Wilder on 
Friday the 31, Day of this instant August, 1787. 

Edwd. Bucknam ^ 

Saml. Johnson > Selectmen." 

Jonas Wilder ) 

The citizens answered that call, and after deliberating upon the 
proposition to petition for a tax on all lands, appointed a committee 
consisting of Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam and Emmons Stock- 
well, to draw up a petition and sign it on behalf of the town. This 
duty they performed on September 4, 1787; and the petition was 
duly presented to the legislature and carried through by Col. 
Joseph Whipple, for which service the town voted him seven pounds 
and ten shillings at the March meeting in 1788. This petition the 
reader will find in Chapter VII; on roads. 

This tax proved to be a radical measure that drew from the selfish 
non-residents a portion of the aid they should have gladly rendered 
to assist in the development of the roads and other public improve- 
ments that enhance the value of landed estates more than anything 
else. They yielded grudgingly to the calls of the tax-collector ; 
and in many instances they suffered their lands to be sold for the 
taxes. This the town ofificers did promptly, for they had become 
aroused and determined that every man holding lands should do his 
duty by the struggling town. 

The act passed by the legislature was just what the petitioners 
asked for, the right to tax all lands not comprehended in what were 
known as " public rights." The church, school, and glebe rights 
were regarded as public grants. 

Dartmouth college had acquired something over fifteen hundred 
acres of land in town in the year 1782, and as there was, at some 
previous time, an act passed by the legislature exempting the lands 
of this college from public taxes, the institution undertook to evade 
this 3-penny tax in 1788. Although the legislature did not intend 
to repeal the act exempting the college lands from taxes this last 
act virtually did do so. At all events that was the interpretation the 
town officers put upon it ; and they went ahead to collect it by 
a sale of the lands. The Rev. John Wheelock, president of the 
college, wrote several times to the selectmen to stay proceedings ; 
but it was of no avail. One of his letters to the selectmen throws some 



I08 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

light on the early disposal of some of the original rights, and I deem 
it of sufificient interest to insert here. It is as follows : 

" Dartmouth College, Oct. 28, 1788. 
"Gentlemen, 

" You are doubtless acquainted that by a particular Act of our General Assem- 
bly the lands belonging to this College are all freed and exempted from public 
taxes of this and of the lands belonging to the College in the town of Lancas- 
ter I have written & sent several times to the Selectmen of said town, and once 

sent them a copy of the act of the Assembly concerning the same You have 

probably seen the copy & the act can be seen at any time in the Secretary's office. 

I am informed that there is a grant of a tax to be levied on the lands, and as 
taxes may arise from time to time on the lands, tho'' I suppose you are already 
sufficiently acquainted with the lands of the College there and of their exemption 
from taxes, Yet, for fear any difficulties & disadvantages may possible arise I have 
embraced the present opportunity to write the folowing, being the lands which 
belong to the College in your town 

" Two hundred & twenty acres to the right of Jonathan Grant 

Two hundred & twenty acres to the right of Joseph Marble 

Two hundred & twenty acres to the right of Thomas Rogers 

Two hundred & twenty acres to the right of Joshua Tolford and about 

Two hundred & thirty acres in each of the rights of 

Daniel Warner Esq. & Nath. Bartlett Esq. exclusive of their house 
and meadow lots. 

" The whole of the aforesaid lands amounting to about fifteen hundred and 

sixty acres of land Recorded in Grafton ss 23 Augst. 1782 

I have given this notification to prevent any damage that might arise to those, 

who should sell them and pursuant to the Act of assembly, and in behalf of 

the trustes desire you would attend to the matter, that there be no sale of any of 

said lots for taxes, they being the property of College 

I am with truest esteem. Gentlemen, 
Signed in behalf of J Wheelock, President, 

the Trustees of 
Dart : College 

To the Selectmen of the town of Lancaster." 

The people of Lancaster were doubtless well acquainted with the 
college's holdings of lands in the town and its liability for taxes 
under their special act, as is shown above. The taxes were laid and 
collected as the town ofhcers meant they should be — without favor 
to anyone. 

After the Dartmouth college lands had been sold for delinquent 
taxes, the selectmen gave the institution the following notice : 

" Lancaster Sept. 9th. 1789. 
" Sir— 

We have received one or two letters from you respecting your lands in Lancas- 
ter that they are free from Taxes by an Act of the Genl. Court of the state of New 
Hampshire the said Court has also laid a Tax of two pence Pr acre for the year 
1788 & I P Pr acre for three years following on all the lands in Lancaster to re- 
pair roads and to build Bridges in said town, Publick Rights only Excepted, the 
Lands that you own are not out of Publick Rights and as the act for the tax above 
mentioned was Passed some time after the Court had Passed the act to Clear your 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 



109 



lands ot Taxes and our act says on all the Lands in Lancaster savin<r Publick 
Rights therefore we conseave of it that your Lands are as liable to be calld upon 
for the afore sd tax as any of the lands in said Town and we have given the same 
Notice in the New Hampshire Gazette for owners of the land to Do the work and 
have advertised your lands with other Delinquents for sale and all of your Lands 
were sold at Publick Vendue last March to Pay the 2d Tax, Therefore we thought 

it no more than reasonable to acquaint you of it seasonably '^ 

We are Sir 

Your most Obedient Humble Servants 
Edwds. Bucknam 



Ldwds. Bucknam ^ „ , 
Jonas Wilder ( Se ectmen 

John Weeks ) Lancast 



Lancaster." 

_ The tone of this letter indicates the pubh'c sentiment on the ques- 
tion of taxing non-residents. The people were determined that 
these should pay their taxes as well as residents. The resident tax- 
payer had this advantage over the non-resident, he could work out 
the road tax, while the non-resident had either to pay it in money 
or see his lands sold. The matter was a vexatious one, but the peo- 
ple were fully aroused by the inequality and injustice that had pre- 
vailed so long, and were determined to make every landholder do 
his duty. The beginning of the end was in sight,' though it took 
fully twenty years to entirely eradicate the evil. A general law, 
passed by the legislature early in the present century, established a 
uniformity of procedure that settled all the conflicts over the non- 
resident's taxes. 

In all new settlements land constitutes the first wealth of the peo- 
ple, and for a certain period they have little other wealth. A por- 
tion of that wealth is always required to construct roads and bridges, 
to establish communication with older settlements in which they 
must find their markets, both to buy and sell in. It was so with 
Lancaster. One feature of the situation was rather exaggerated ; the 
distance from the older settlements was very great — more than eighty 
miles. Much of that distance was an unbroken forest, making It a 
great undertaking for a mere handful of pioneers to build roads and 
at the same time make a living for their families. That every land- 
holder should have been called upon to do his proportional share of 
that work was just and honest. 

The Revolutionary struggle had kept the settlement back in its 
development, so that at the end of twenty years it was little farther 
advanced than it should have been at the end of the first ten years. 
We have seen that soon after the close of that period there were only 
ten taxable men in town. The people had lost rather than gained 
ground in that time. They had spent much of their time and sub- 
stance in watching the frontier from attacks by a dangerous foe. 
They had reached a point when their families were increasing, new 
wants were confronting them, and they even had some commodities 



no HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

to carry to market to exchange for the necessities of Hfe ; but their 
roads were almost impassable and the streams without bridges. The 
state was forced to leave the people to their own resources in the 
matter. We cannot wonder at their resolute determination to call 
everyone who was to profit by better roads to help to make them. 

The problem of taxation is always beset by difificulties ; the wis- 
dom of no generation has been equal to the task of divesting it of 
all features of inequality. The selfish and dishonest of any commu- 
nity can shirk their just share of the burden for a time ; but the suf- 
ferers after a while reach a point where endurance of the wrong is 
unbearable, and they demand a reckoning with the delinquents. It 
is not any more so in old communities than in new ones; but in the 
new community the veil that covers the wrong is thinner, and the 
evil is easier of discovery. It was so with the Lancaster of a hun- 
dred years ago. 

Once the people paid their taxes and ceased to avoid them under 
any pretexts, the community settled down to a peaceful attitude 
toward the question of taxation, and we see no signs of dissatisfac- 
tion for a long time, or until other abuses grew up, and then com- 
plaint was made against the selfish and dishonest. And so it will 
always be until men are all honest and generous, actuated by a patri- 
otic and public spirit. 

The town, having gotten its policy of public improvements iully 
set in motion, entered upon a period of prosperity that has never 
been equaled since. From the first settlement of the town it was 
strictly an agricultural community. The people raised their own 
bread and meat until somewhere about 1832, when through a neg- 
lect of the farms to engage in land speculations there came to be a 
shortage of grain to meet the demands of the community. This was 
due to several causes, as we shall see later; but during the early 
years grain was exported to a considerable extent. ( I have used 
the term " export,'' as I find that the people used it at the time of 
which I am speaking, due to a sort of provincial spirit that charac- 
terized the community for many years.) The farms were produc- 
tive, and the people were economical as well as industrious. To 
products of their grain fields they soon added those of their herds 
and dairies. Fat cattle, hogs, sheep and fowl were abundant enough 
to afford the old-time drovers and merchants prosperous business 
from about 1790 until quite far into the present century. 

In the days of the old turnpike through the White Mountain 
Notch it was one of the common sights in winter to see trains of 
teams half a mile in length, loaded down with butter, cheese, dressed 
hogs, lard, and poultry on the way to Portland. Willey, in his "His- 
tory of the White Mountains," pp. 1 1 1, 112, describes such a scene, 
as follows : " Well can we remember the long train of Coos teams 



PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. Ill 

which used to formerly pass through Conway. In winter, more par- 
ticularly, we have seen lines of teams half a mile in length ; the 
tough, scrubby, Canadian horses harnessed to ' pungs,' well loaded 
down with pork, cheese, butter, and lard, the drivers rivaling almost 
the modern locomotive and its elegant train of carriages in noise and 
bluster." Such scenes had been common for many years. Near 
the close of the last century pot and pearl ash were added to this 
list of commodities, and for many years were one of the staples of 
trade between the Lancaster merchants and wholesale dealers in Bos- 
ton and Portland. The merchants here took the article in trade for 
goods of all descriptions as readily as they did money. They some- 
times took the ashes and made the pot, or pearl ash, themselves. 
The commoner name was " salts of lye." This profitable product 
led the people to make an onslaught upon their timber that, while it 
tided them over a time of great scarcity, yet wasted a wealth of tim- 
ber that in later years would have been of much greater value to 
them. They cannot be blamed, however, of being short sighted. 
No one then could have foreseen that timber was destined to en- 
hance in value. It was so abundant that every easy device of get- 
ting rid of it was counted as a gain to civilization. This destruction 
of the forest opened an ever-increasing portion of the lands to pas- 
turage and cultivation, so there was some small gain in even the de- 
struction of their forests. 

As the grass sprung up in the openings made by the conversion 
of the wood into potash, cattle must have been allowed to run at 
large, for we note the fact that the town meetings began, about 
twenty years after the settlement, to elect " hog reves " and " fence 
viewers." At a town meeting in 1783, it was voted that "hogs 
properly yoked and ringed may run at large." The yoking of hogs 
was voted on at several meetings, from which fact we infer that hogs 
had come to be abundant and unruly. 

At an adjourned town meeting, March 15, 1784, it was voted to 
build a "pound between Maj. Jonas Wilder's and the Bridge place 
or fordway over Isreals River, and that Maj. Wilder be the Pound 
Keeper." This order was undoubtedly carried out. The pound must 
have been located somewhere on the lands of Major Wilder, which 
extended more than half way from his house to the fordway over 
Isreals river, although I have been unable to locate it, or even get 
hold of any traditions of it. There is a tradition that the first pound 
was built near the old meeting-house common, on Portland street. 
The pound here referred to was the second one, and was authorized 
to be built by a committee chosen at the annual meeting March 8, 
1 791, "To build a Pound on such spot in said town as they think 
best." The committee saw fit to locate this prison of stray cattle at 
the southeast corner of meeting-house common. It was a well-con- 



112 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

structed pound of stone walls, capped with hewn logs, and a strong 
gate. Here the unruly animals were brought to order for many a 
year; and although this old structure has long since passed away its 
successors have lingered in that vicinity until the present day. 

In all new communities cattle and hogs run at large, and after a 
time are the source of much annoyance to the people. Many petty 
conflicts arise over the depredations of jumping cows and horses, 
and the rooting hogs. Lancaster, no doubt, had its full share of 
these troubles in early times. 

Of the mercantile pursuits before the beginning of the present 
century we know but very little, and that is quite fragmentary. That 
Edwards Bucknam and David Page kept small stocks of goods in 
their own houses for trafific is certain ; but they were not merchants. 
They were men of almost every sort of occupations that life in a new 
country called for. Especially was this true of Bucknam, who could 
turn a hand at anything that needed to be done. The time came, 
however, when Lancaster had what we may truly call a store, 
because it was kept in a separate building used for that specific 
purpose by a man who had no other vocation or avocations. Directly 
following the French revolution, when there was a change of adminis- 
tration in France, one John Toscan, who had been the consular 
agent of his government at Portland, Me., finding his government 
turned out, and the situation at home one of danger to the ofificers 
of the former government, came to Lancaster with a stock of goods, 
and locating in the neighborhood of Bucknam and Weeks, continued 
to carry on a store for some years, with reasonable success, until his 
store was burned, when he returned to Pordand, and later returned to 
his native country when the revolutionary storm had blown over and 
the old regime was restored. Toscan's store stood on the south side 
of the road on the farm now owned by Edward Woodward ; on or near 
the spot where a new house was erected during the present year. 
As near as we can learn Toscan came here either in 1794, or 1795, 
and remained probably six or eight years. The neighborhood in 
which he settled his business was then probably the most densely 
populated one in the town, as there were some twenty families living 
in that part of town early in the present century. 

The next important mercantile venture was at the north end of 
Main street by Stephen Willson, in 1799. I have before me his 
ledger from October 13th, 1799, to 1805. Willson kept his store in 
the tavern building, then standing where the Benton residence now 
does on the westerly side of the street. The old building was later 
moved out to the street and northward, and still stands in a good 
state of preservation, and doing service as a tenement house. Here 
Mr. Willson sold dry goods, groceries, hardware, rum, and all sorts 
of things needed in a new country. He took in payment almost as 



COMING OF NEW INDUSTRIES. II 3 

great a variety of things as he sold — kimber, hay, butter, cheese, 
poultry, pigeons, pork, furs, yarn, socks, flax and the labor of male 
and female customers. He honored all sorts of orders drawn upon 
him and his neighbors, and took in payment for his goods a greater 
variety of evidences of debt than any bank of exchange would accept 
to-day as collaterals for its advances to its customers. 

All those early mercantile ventures were failures, however, to their 
owners ; but without them what an amount of privation there would 
have been experienced in the community no man can tell. Every 
man in a new settlement can do almost everything for himself but act 
as his own merchant at a distance of nearly a hundred miles from 
the markets. This some of them did for a while ; but the time 
came when they could no longer afford to do this. The division 
of labor had begun, and the post of trader at a margin on what 
he sold, and on what he took in exchange for it, had its temptations 
for men who had never had any training in those pursuits, and con- 
sequently did not discover the leaks until their ship was ready to 
sink. They were virtually public benefactors instead of speculators. 
Sylvanus Chessman was another of those early merchants. His real 
occupation was that of a blacksmith ; but he had such avocations as 
tavern-keeping, and store-keeping. Their motive in trading was un- 
doubtedly gain, but they were always disappointed, unless the con- 
sciousness of serving their neighbors better than themselves satis- 
fied them. No merchant ever made trade pay here until Royal 
Joyslin, a trained merchant of considerable experience, came and 
brought as his clerk, the late Richard P. Kent. They brought expe- 
rience to the business and made it pay. That time did not come, 
however, until the end of the first quarter of the present century. 
All such ventures before then had brought disaster to those who 
undertook them. A number of men lost much of their savings in 
their inexperienced mercantile enterprises, during that period of ex- 
periment. 

There was no manufacturing of any kind during this early period, 
and very little until about 1830. There were blacksmiths, carpenters, 
shoemakers, tanners, and possibly a few other skilled workmen ; but 
every family had to spin and weave their own cloth, and make their 
clothes themselves. A few rude articles of furniture were made by 
the more skilful persons, and that with the rudest implements. There 
is still in existence among the heirs of Emmons Stockwell a table 
made of a slab of a log dressed down with an axe, possibly smoothed 
with a plane, and the legs carved with a pocket knife. Some furni- 
ture was brought to town at an early date through the White Moun- 
tain notch ; but the majority of the people could not afford much in 
the way of such luxuries during the first quarter of a century of the 
town's settlement. The native ingenuity of the first settlers must 
9 



114 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

have reveled in making all sorts of things after there was a sawmill 
to turn out boards, of which to make tables, benches, chests, boxes, 
drawers and all sorts of handy things to make life easy in the wilder- 
ness. These are matters of speculation, however, and I leave it to 
the reader's fancy to reproduce the scenes of a busy and happy life 
though full of simplicity and guilelessness. 



CHAPTER X. 



A TRANSITION PERIOD IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANCASTER 

FROM 1 800 TO 1850. 

During the first half of the present century Lancaster was pass- 
ing through a long, tedious transition from a frontier community to 
that of a town in touch with the whole state, as the town has since 
been. For a period covering three generations the town was so 
isolated that in many respects it was almost a republic by itself. As late 
as 1 79 1, the general court refused to seat the representative of the 
class of towns to which Lancaster then belonged, on the ground 
that there was insufficient evidence that the election returns were 
sufficiently correct to warrant their acceptance by the court. The 
means of communication between the extremely northern towns of 
the " Upper Coos " were so poor that when William Cargill presented 
himself as the people's representative that year, instead of trying to 
inform themselves on the question of the regularity of the election 
the house refused to recognize him as the easiest way of settling 
the question. His election, however, appears to have been regular, 
and he was entitled to his seat. The following year when Capt. 
John Weeks succeeded Mr. Cargill as the representative of the 
classed towns the same objection was raised ; but the captain was 
not so easily turned down and out. He had gone to the court to 
represent these towns, and he represented them ; but it was not 
until he had met a vigorous opposition, and defeated it, that he was 
seated in the court. He at once set about the project of securing 
a new classing of his town with such other towns as would enable 
the people to have proper recognition in the legislature. Through 
the petition of the town that object was attained. The desire to 
bring the settlements of this northern section into active relations 
with the machinery of the state did not stop there ; a new county 
was demanded, and the demand was kept up until it was granted. 
Still this section was so far divided from the older sections of the 
state, and by nothing so much as by poor roads, that it was at a 
positive disadvantage during the whole of the period I have desig- 
nated as that of its transition. The products of the farms were 
worth but little more than enough to carry them to markets at long 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. II5 

distances over bad roads. The wealth of timber with which the 
town abounded could not be marketed, save as it was converted 
into pot and pearl ashes, which reduced their bulk and increased in 
a considerable measure their marketable condition. The cattle, and 
other live stock, raised in large quantities were so far from market 
that they brought only a poor return for the expense of raising and 
driving to market. It was true the people lacked nothing of the 
necessities of life ; they had plenty to eat, and as for clothing they 
raised flax and wool in sufficient quantities to dress with comfort. 
Homes of plenty were multiplying, and the population kept in- 
creasing at a steady rate from 161 in 1790, to 440 in 1800. The 
life of these 440 souls in 1800, found no larger scope for activity 
than the lesser number did in 1790, only that their circumstances 
were a little better. They were still just as far from the markets of 
the world as ever. The roads were but little better, and other 
things were about equal. The state had been appealed to in vain 
for assistance in several ways that would have very much improved 
the condition of the people here if they had been granted their re- 
quests. 

Brave ventures had been made by various persons at keeping 
stores in order to supply the demands of the people ; goods were 
brought through the White Mountain notch, or up the Connecticut 
river through Haverhill at great cost. Those traders had ventured 
to take various kinds of produce in exchange for their goods, but 
not one of them, prior to 1825, ever succeeded in making anything. 
Most of them lost much, if not all they had, by the ventures. Con- 
ditions were against them even if they had possessed the requisite 
experience and training in mercantile pursuits that alone can as- 
sure success. 

Added to the natural growth of population was a considerable 
number of families that came from farther south hoping to profit by 
the cheap, productive lands of the town, which could be purchased 
at very low prices, and seemed to promise much to home-seekers. 
Among these families were some with a sort of roving disposition 
who had tried their fortunes in several other places and had failed 
to succeed. It may be doubted if some of them would have suc- 
ceeded anywhere or under any conditions. They helped to swell 
the population, and some of them opened up farms and built 
houses, mostly of the primitive sort that soon fell into decay and 
contributed little or nothing to the advancement of the town. Many 
of them, coming up the Connecticut river, pitched upon lands on 
the northerly slope of the Martin Meadow hills in the vicinity 
of General Bucknam's residence. Bucknam probably offered them 
every encouragement in building homes, as no one ever appealed to 
him in vain. He wanted to see the population of the town in- 



Il6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

creased. If the town was to become of any importance it must 
have as large population as possible ; and newcomers were always 
welcomed. General Bucknam and Captain Weeks in the south end 
of the town were especially hospitable to the new settlers; and 
about the year 1800 there were more people living south of the 
village limits of to-day than were north of it. The old meeting- 
house was the geographical center of the town, so far as the settle- 
ment had then gone, for none had crossed the Martin Meadow hills. 
So entirely was the town an agricultural community that up to 1804, 
there were only ten houses north of Isreals river within what is now 
the limits of the village on that side of the river, and five on the 
south side, between Parson Willard's and the river. Those on the 
north side were : The Major Wilder's house, then open to the public 
as an inn (now known as the Holton place). The Stephen 
Willson house, a tavern, where the Benton residence now stands. 
In this building Mr. Willson carried on a store for some years prior 
to this time. The little house on North Main street, now owned by 
Col. H. O. Kent, was then standing as the residence of Samuel 
Hunnex (an old Revolutionary soldier). The houses of Artemas 
and Jonathan Cram, William Lovejoy, one Faulkner, Richard C. 
Everett (the old Cross house of to-day), one Bruce, known then as 
" Governor Bruce," and Miller David Greenleaf's. Standing on 
Middle street, near where Clough's house now does, comprised all 
the dwellings on the north side at that time. On the south side 
there were the residences of Titus O. Brown, in one end of which 
he kept a small stock of goods, Sylvanus Chessman's house, then 
just completed and intended for a tavern (later known as the Amer- 
ican House), Edmund Chamberlain's house, Dr. Chapman's house, 
Chessman's old house under the Meeting-house hill, Mr. Hinman's 
house, near the " clothing mill " that stood for many years where 
Frank Smith & Co.'s sawmill now does. These were all the resi- 
dences then in the village. In addition to these there were the fol- 
lowing business houses : Boardman's store (where Ethan A. Craw- 
ford lives), a pearl-ash south of the store, Carlisle's store, a school- 
house near where the court-house now stands, and the meeting- 
house on the south side of the river. These, with the residences 
mentioned above, comprised the whole village in 1804. 

The number of houses and families outside of the village at that 
time is not known, but must have been considerable to house a 
population of some five hundred souls. In 1799, there were ten 
houses within the village limits, and ninety-one voters, so there must 
have been as large a population as we estimate in 1804. In 1807, 
one hundred and five votes were offered in town-meeting, at which 
time the population was closely approaching six hundred. 

The one event that drew attention to the "Upper Coos," and 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. II/ 

induced emigration to it was the erection of Coos county in 1803, 
the act to take effect in 1805, and the designation of Lancaster as 
the shire town. As we have seen elsewhere the people had long 
been anxious to be set off in a new county and have the county 
courts and of^ces of record more convenient than when they were 
at Haverhill, about fifty miles distant. Now that this long-wished- 
for event was soon to be realized the people were jubilant. It 
meant vastly more to them than simply having a court and the 
offices of record for their new county ; it meant that Lancaster was 
to assume her place as something more than a frontier town, and 
enjoy the prosperity that had long been expected, to make it a 
desirable place for the home-seekers. In this the people were not 
disappointed, for the number of residences in the village more than 
doubled in the next twenty years, while the number of farms was 
greatly increased. 

Lancaster was the most favorably situated of all the northern 
towns to become the shire town of the new county. It was the most 
populous one in the county, situated most favorably on the roads 
down the Connecticut River Valley, and through the White Moun- 
tain notch, giving it the most direct communication with the older 
towns in the southern part of the state and Portland, which had 
then become the chief port or market for Lancaster and all the 
towns to the north of it. 

A new impetus was given to the various business enterprises of 
the town. With an increasing population and prosperity the people 
began to build more comfortable houses, and furnish them better, 
and in every way the town took on an air of general improvement. 
The merchants began to carry larger stocks of goods. Benjamin 
Boardman was taxed on a stock of three thousand dollars worth of 
general merchandise. That was a large stock for those times when 
we take into consideration the fact that the kinds of goods he dealt 
in were such as we should consider only the barest of necessities of 
any community, with, perhaps, none of our accustomed luxuries. 
Prices Avere very unstable during the first ten years of this period — 
1 800-1 8 10. The town records show at what prices certain com- 
modities were figured into the minister's salary, as two thirds of it 
were payable in produce. This arrangement, that may provoke a 
smile with the reader, was only one of the necessary features of busi- 
ness in an almost entirely agricultural community. The people had 
but little beside the products of their farms ; and as markets were so 
far from them it was a costly operation to convert their produce into 
cash with which to pay their bills. It was counted fortunate to be 
able to raise enough money in hand to pay taxes with, and a moiety 
for trade. Then the minister had to have a certain amount of farm 
produce for his own use, and it was an economical arrangement to 



Il8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

pay him in the produce and save the waste that would have resulted 
from sending it to market a hundred miles off to get money which 
he should have been compelled to pay out for the same kind of 
things. Then, too, there was a custom of making exchanges of pro- 
duce with the merchants by which a bushel of wheat could be made 
to do the same service in exchange that a dollar now does with us 
through our banks of exchange. I have before me accounts show- 
ing that farmers, and makers of potash, deposited their products 
with some of the early merchants and then used it just as we would 
treat a deposit at a bank that we did not care to take the risk of 
carrying about in our pockets. A farmer would deposit his wheat 
with the merchant, and then give his creditors orders upon the 
merchant for such small sums as he owed until the amount was 
traded out by, perhaps, a score of his creditors. Those old-timers 
understood political economy fully as well as we of to-day do. By 
reference to the single transaction of paying their minister, which 
was done as a town function, we learn the customary prices of the 
leading commodities of the town. In the year 1800 the following 
schedule of prices was made out by the selectmen as " the going 
prices," and at which people could pay their minister's tax : " Wheat 
one dollar, rye five shillings six pence, corn four shillings six pence, 
oats two shillings, flax ten pence per pound." In 1804 prices ran 
higher. Wheat was $1.17 per bushel, rye 83 cents, corn 75 cents, 
oats 33 cents, flax 17 cents per pound. Wheat was the most un- 
stable in price of all the produce mentioned as a legal tender to the 
minister. In 1807 it was up to $1.33, while the other produce 
mentioned remained the same as for the previous years. In 1809 
wheat jumped up to $1.50, and remained at that price two years, 
when it fell to $1, for the next year; but during 1812 it again ad- 
vanced to $1.50. The following year it fell to $1.33, with rye at $i, 
corn 83 cents, and oats 33 cents. In 18 14 wheat advanced to the 
astonishing price of $2 per bushel, corn and rye to $1.34 per bushel, 
and oats 38 cents. 

There was never the same fluctuation in the prices of goods, and 
it is not strange that the merchants of those days were all bankrupt 
at the end of a few years of business ventures. Every merchant who 
was in business before 1825 met that fate, some of them losing large 
amounts. 

The first of those dealers only carried small stocks of goods in a 
room of their residences, and had other business, giving at most 
only a divided attention to their merchandise. Such business must 
always prove a failure. Even Benjamin Boardman's store fell into decay 
when he began to buy up stock and drive it to Brighton market. 
The volume of business was considerable, but the distance from the 
markets in which the merchants had to buy and sell was so great as 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. I 19 

to consume much of the vahie of goods and produce in effecting 
their exchanges. A trip to Portland took five days under the most 
favorable conditions of the roads and weather. The farmer who 
produced large quantities of wheat, or other grains, butter, cheese 
and poultry, and the pelts of the animals slaughtered for meat on the 
farm, and the skins and furs of the animals he hunted, partly for 
meat and partly for sport to break the tedium of the dreary life, 
could better afford to haul these to market with his own teams than 
trade them at the stores. He could make the profit there was in them 
and wages for his teams and men while on the road. For many 
years the most thrifty farmers kept up this practice of going to 
market once or twice a year, at which times they would sell their 
produce at the best prices and buy their supplies to last for all, or a 
portion, of the year. They not infrequently carried home in addition 
to those purchases, handsome sums of money with which to pay 
taxes and make many improvements on the farms or in the houses. 

While the more thrifty farmers had learned to get along without 
the middle-men — the store-keepers and drovers — there were yet 
some so situated for lack of business tact, or circumstances over 
which they had no control, to whom these middle-men were a great 
blessing. The poor farmer could buy on credit of his home mer- 
chant, who would wait on him, until his crops were matured and 
gathered, for his pay; and the drover would buy his few fat cattle, 
sheep, or hogs at reasonable prices which was better for him than 
to have undertaken to drive them to market himself. Thus the 
drover was able to range over a large territory and collect a pro- 
fitable drove of live stock to take to the markets. For many years 
this business was alike profitable to drover and farmer. Vast droves 
of choice cattle were taken out of the country for which the farmer 
received a good return, most always in ready money. Every farm 
could sell something at certain times during the year. The ashes 
from the hearth commanded a good price ; the poultry-yard could 
almost any time of the year furnish eggs, fowls, or at least the 
feathers of the fowls eaten ; fat swine, cattle, sheep ; potash could be 
made during the winter season when the weather would not admit of 
other work being performed ; grain and flax could always be sold 
in any quantities that the farmer might happen to have ; he could 
sell the wool from his flock of sheep ; or his wife and daughters 
could spin it and sell it as yarn ; or if they wished to put still more 
labor into it in order to realize still more from it they might knit or 
weave it into fabrics of various sorts, even garments ready to be 
worn by the purchaser. 

For a period of more than ten years this remarkable prosperity 
went on uninterrupted, and the population ran up to 717 in 1810, 
with 130 voters residing here. This must have seemed grand to 



I20 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the men and women of twenty years before that date, when they 
could count only a hundred and sixty-one inhabitants in the town. 

The financial troubles that threatened the seaport towns with 
ruin, in consequence of the embargo and the non-intercourse acts 
of congress, did not affect Lancaster seriously. In fact, Mr. Board- 
man who had lost sev^eral vessels in his shipping trade came to Lan- 
caster because he could follow his business here undisturbed by the 
piracy under the guise of law that lost to American owners 900 
vessels from 1803, to 181 1. This section was much excited over the 
embargo and non-intercourse measures while in force, and con- 
siderable smuggling" was carried on between the states and Canada, 
chiefly, however, by the border towns of this state and Vermont. 
Lancaster was but little concerned in the matter as its citizens were 
a law-abiding people, and they had satisfactory access to the mar- 
kets in which their cattle and other produce brought good prices. 
The people of Lancaster came early into a measure of political 
prominence in the state, and being patriotic Americans they easily 
could forego the temptation to violate the laws of the nation in deal- 
ing with a province of Great Britain, for a mere pittance of extra 
prices for their live stock, or a saving of a few pence on the pound 
on the few articles of import, chiefly of the character of luxuries. 

Some writers have attempted to condone the offense of the smug- 
glers of those days on the ground that by selling their fat cattle to 
the British they received a little better return for their labor; but we 
must not forget that it was a war measure, and that it was the duty 
of every patriotic citizen to honor it for the good of his country, just 
as their fathers and mothers during the Revolutionary War period 
refused to use tea, and other taxed articles, the use of which by them 
would have put into the hands of their oppressors the power to 
oppress their posterity for generations to come. 

We find no respectable or prominent citizen of the town aiding 
the unlawful trade, and that many of them took an active part in 
both discouraging and breaking it up. Their fathers had suffered 
much for the freedom they were enjoying, and they could forego a 
little gain for the sake of maintaining that liberty. The elm-log 
jail, that stood on the same lot that the present jail does, was often 
the temporary lodging place of those early smugglers, none of 
whom seem to have been notorious characters like the smugglers 
of later years. 

Some people in Lancaster, no doubt, sold their cattle to drovers 
when they knew that they were to be taken to Canada, contrary to 
the proclamation of the president of the United States. Many people 
here shared the general feeling of disapproval of President Madison's 
administration, and especially his war measures, the latter being 
severely condemned throughout New England. No disloyal acts 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 121 

ever were laid to the charge of any citizen of the town, and a large 
nnmber of its younger men entered the American army. The num- 
ber of the young men who left to take part in the war was a large 
factor in reducing the population from 717, in 18 10, to about 600, 
in 1 8 16, when the number of voters was only 113, whereas it had 
been 130 in 1811. This decrease of population was, in the main, 
due to the removal of many families to the newer states in the West. 
Many of the more adventurous families that had settled on the 
northerly slope of Martin Meadow hills, having found that getting a 
living in Lancaster involved about as much hard labor as at any 
other place, left for what they fancied were " greener pastures." The 
town lost little by their removal, as the}' were not of the class that 
possessed the hardy qualities necessary to success in any com- 
munity. 

Many of the young men who enlisted in the army never returned 
to the place of their birth or adoption, having become wonted to 
other places with which they had become acquainted during the 
years of their adventures as soldiers. 

The following is the roster of Captain John VV. Weeks's company : 

Captain. — John W. Weeks. 

Lieutenants. — First lieutenant, Richard Bean ; second lieutenant, 
James Green. 

Ensign. — F. A. Sawyer. 

Sergeants. — Benjamin Stephenson, William Smith, Daniel Bailey, 
Amaziah Knight, Elisha B. Green. 

Coi-porah. — William W. Bailey, Peter Gamsby, Obed S. Hatch, 
Josiah Reed, Benjamin Wilson, Robert Hoskins. 

Musicians. — Allen Smith, Orrin R. Dexter, Silas Whitney, Solo- 
mon B. Clark. 

Privates. — Henry Alden, Samuel Abbott, Thomas Alverson, 
Daniel Bennett, Zera Bennett, John Brown, Chester Bennett, Hazen 
Burbank, Daniel Burbank, Stephen Bullard, Benjamin T. Baker, 
Ebenezer Ball, Thomas Brigham, Gad Beacher, John Burns, John 
Burgin, 2d, John Bickford, Nathaniel Bennett, John Brainard, 
Zebulon Carter, Stephen Chase, Levi H. Christian, Seth Clark, 
Winthrop Collins, John Collins, Guy Clark, Jere Clough, Charles 
Collins, Moses Cooper, Sylvanus Currier, Otis Chaffee, Samuel 
Abraig, Benjamin Cross, Phineas Davenport, Eliphet Day, John 
Dodge, Moses Davis, Eli Davenport, Luimer Dodge, John English, 
James French, Luther Fuller, Jeremiah Fuller, Joel Farnham, John 
French, Timothy Fuller, Lemuel Fuller, Abner Gay, Wells Good- 
win, Samuel Gotham, Robert Gotham, Samuel Henry, John Holmes, 
Neh. Houghton, Willard Huntoon, Alpheus Hutchins, Joseph 
Henderson, James Harvey, Sheldon Holbrook, Henry Hall, John 
Hicks, John M. Holmes, Daniel Holmes, Greenleaf Huntoon, 



122 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

George Huntoon, Warren Cassin, Joshua Knapp, Peter Labare^ 
Joseph Labare, Samuel Linsey, George W. Lucas, Jacob Mclntire, 
James Mellen, Harry Moore, Shephard Morse, Ebenezer Mudge, 
Jacob B. Moore, John W. Moore, WiUiam Merriam, Nathaniel 
Moore, James Nesbit, Stephen Orr, Daniel Perkins, James Perkins^ 
Theodore Phillips, Benoni Potter, Orange Pixley, Caleb Prouty, 
Daniel Pinkham, Levi Pratt, Albert Rathbone, Anthony C. Read- 
field, Abram Rogers, Martin Ray, George Shirland, P^dmund San- 
born, John Sanford, John Shirley, Job Smith, Luther Southworth, 
Elihu Spencer, Jacob Sperry, James B. Stanley, Joshua Stephens, 
Abram Sanborn, Reuben Stevens, David Stodard, John C. Swain, 
Israel Sanderson, Daniel Stratton, Jacob Trussell, Daniel Utley, 
Samuel Vanschork, Jere Wheeler, Barney B. Whipple, James Whit- 
ney, Jeremiah White, Jotham Wilkins, John Wilkinson, Absalom 
Wilson, John Wilson, James Witherell, John R. Wyatt, John M. 
Williams, Joseph Weed, Allen White, Andrew Woods, Thomas 
Whiton, George Warren, Simon Warren, Josiah Washburn, Robert 
H. Robertson, Alexander Jones, Peter Hamilton, Jedediah Robin- 
son, Samuel Wright, Samuel Stackpole — 146. 

This company assembled, and was organized, on the farm of 
Captain Brackett, from whence they marched to the front, and 
during the war did faithful service. They won distinction at the 
battle of Chippewa or Niagara as among the bravest of the brave 
soldiers of General Hazen's army. 

The majority of these men were from Lancaster, and were among 
the personal friends and acquaintances of Captain Weeks. Only a 
small number of them returned to Lancaster at the close of the war. 
A few of them were lost by casualty or sickness during the service, 
but most of them became dispersed over many other states, where 
they chose to locate and try the fortunes of peaceful industries. 
Their loss to Lancaster was a heavy drain upon its population as it 
took the young and strong and left the old and feebler members of 
their families behind to care for the interests of the settlement ; but 
this heavy drain upon the working force of the town did not wholly 
discourage the people. Some viewed the departure of so many of 
their young men with gloomy forebodings, while others were glad 
to see them go to answer the call of the country for defenders of the 
hard-earned liberties some of them had shared in winning from a 
tyrannical foreign government that was again trying to subvert our 
government and humiliate our people. 

During all this fluctuation of population the village gained steadily 
in numbers and prosperity as compared with the outside neighbor- 
hoods. By 1 8 10 there was an increase of six houses. In 1820, 
with the population of the entire town at six hundred and forty, the 
village had all the stores in town, numbering four. There were two 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. I 23 

good hotels, or as they termed them, taverns. Wilson's tavern at 
the north end of Main street was the leading one, as it was in the 
centre of the business portion of the village and was near the court- 
house and jail. Chessman's tavern at the corner of Main and Elm 
streets, at the south end, was a good house with ample accommo- 
dations for the traveling public, and had a hall in it for the use of 
dancing parties and other entertainments, and a stock of goods at 
one time. This tavern was then called the American House. 
There was but one minister of the gospel, the venerable Joseph 
Willard, minister of the First church. Three lawyers found a 
means of livelihood in the practice of their profession, while an 
equal number of physicians looked after the health and comfort of 
the people. There were then five justices of the peace, which is 
slightly under the proportion for our present population. It was 
probably then as now, while there were more of those public func- 
tionaries than were needed, a few of them did all the business. 
The town then had eight school districts and four schoolhouses. 

The greater proportion of the population and business enterprises 
tended toward the village after the period of decline set in, about 
18 1 2. The seasons of 1804 and 1807 had been unfavorable ones 
to the farmers. Heavy snows came early and laid until late. 
Frosts were so frequent and severe that crops were greatly damaged. 
On May i, 1807, snow laid four and a half feet deep in the woods. 
The losses incurred by those unfavorable seasons fell heavily upon 
many families, but the old-timers stood it better. They knew how 
to adapt themselves to reverses, and most of them were in comfort- 
able circumstances by that time. Just after passing through the 
interruption to business enterprises, brought upon them by the late 
war, there came another most unfavorable season that proved a 
disastrous one for many of the people of limited circumstances. 
The season of 181 5 was a cold and dry one. As late as May 22d 
snow fell to a depth of nine inches. During the whole of that 
summer the days were hot, but the nights were colder than had 
ever before been experienced. There was but one compensating 
feature in the whole of that year — it proved a good season for making 
maple sugar, and those who were favorably situated for it and took 
advantage of the abundant and long flow of sap, made vast quantities 
of the commodity, which was as staple as wheat in the local trade. 

The following year was even more disastrous to the farmers than 
that of 181 5. So cold was the season of 18 16 that it is remem- 
bered by some of the oldest inhabitants as the " cold season," and 
as the coldest ever known in this section. On the 8th of June snow 
fell all day until six inches laid a frozen mass that buried the hopes 
of the farmer for that year. It is said that the frost worked into 
cellars that day as in the coldest winter weather. The water in the 



124 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

aqueducts from the springs froze. Thermometers were not then 
in use, so that we have no certain knowledge of just how cold it 
was that unlovely June day. By a comparison of the phenomena 
described as the characteristics of that memorable day with what 
takes place now, when we can measure the cold, I should think that 
the temperature must have gone down very near to zero on that 
occasion. When the cold period passed it was followed by a long 
period of drouth that ruined all crops except potatoes, of which 
there was a moderate crop of inferior quality ; but there was no 
choice, people had to put by their fastidious tastes and notions, 
and subsist upon the scanty store of produce that a most careful 
effort coaxed from Mother Earth that year. 

The next two years were more encouraging, for they were at 
least free from such calamities, and the people gathered courage 
and addressed themselves to the tasks of life with energy, and their 
labors were rewarded. The season of 1819 was known for many 
years as the " Dark Year." The weather was dreary and cloudy 
all through the year. On November 9th the day was so dark 
that the stars shone brightly through the rifts in the clouds, at 
times. This phenomenon terrified the more ignorant and timid 
people greatly ; they did not understand it, and no doubt it had 
much to do in determining some of them to leave the town for 
other fields of adventure in the great Western regions then looked 
upon as a sort of Eldorado. 

This northern section of the state was looked upon as a poor 
country by the people of the state generally. John Farmer, in his 
"Gazetteer of New Hampshire for 1823," said of the people of 
Coos county: "They are poor, and for aught that appears to the 
contrary, must always remain so, as they may be deemed actual 
trespassers on that part of creation, destined by its author for the 
residence of bears, wolves, moose, and other animals of the forest." 

So it may have appeared to people at the distance from which 
Mr. Farmer studied the situation in this northern country; but 
those sturdy men had a way of converting the "bears, wolves, 
moose, and other wild animals of the forest" into means of no 
small amount of comfort. If crops failed for a season or two, as 
they frequently did, those men could procure their meat from the 
forests and clothe their families in the skins and furs of the wild 
animals in a way to make them comfortable for a time. It seemed 
almost providential, that during the period of failure of their crops 
deer should have become extremely plenty; and even the un- 
welcome wolf was a valuable animal, as there was a good bounty 
on his scalp, and many of those animals were killed at a time when 
a little money derived from the bounty helped wonderfully to tide 
the hardy pioneers over hard times. 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 1 25 

There was a persevering hardiness in the character of the people 
of those days that saved them from failure ; they could accommo- 
date themselves to adverse circumstances and await the coming of 
better times, as they confidently expected such times would come 
again. The traditions of the town were full of recitals of hardships 
and the surmounting of difficulties. Why should the children and 
grandchildren of those sturdy first settlers fail? Conditions were a 
hundredfold better in 1820 than they were in 1776. The people 
had the necessities of life in reasonable quantities nearly all the 
time, sometimes in abundance, aud only rarely were they in want 
of anything necessary to their comfort. Their houses were commo- 
dious and comfortable ; they had church and schools to enlighten 
and train them in the higher graces and refinements of life. It is 
true they were not making money, but there is something to live 
for besides wealth as counted in dollars. Against a happy home 
in which comfort and virtue abound, where healthy and intelligent 
children are being trained to good citizenship, where the human 
heart finds that response of love and sympathy for which it hungers, 
wealth is as the " dust in the balance." The citizens of the town 
have won, and long held the recognition from the other sections of 
the state as being law-abiding, and public-spirited citizens of the 
old Granite state. Few towns in the state have been so conspicu- 
ous for the number of responsible positions filled by its citizens in 
county, state, and national services, both in civil and military capaci- 
ties. 

Like all rural and agricultural communities the town has sent 
forth her young, richest, and most ambitious life. She has nurtured 
scores of men and women who have been mighty among the num- 
bers who have won eminent success in various business and profes- 
sional callings. 

In spite of all the prophesies and signs against this northern sec- 
tion this town was not destined to remain poor and hampered : 
though the seasons for many years were unfavorable, and crop after 
crop failed, the people held on to their farms. They learned to 
adapt themselves to the changed conditions, and raised such crops 
as would grow during short and cool seasons. These they 
exchanged for the things they could not produce. When they 
could no longer depend on a crop of wheat they raised grass and 
gave their attention to the production of cattle and butter and 
cheese, for all of which they found good prices and a ready market 
in Portland. 

As the crops became less certain more attention was given to 
making potash, which in turn opened up a larger area of pasture 
lands and made the grazing interests of the town more reliable. 
The people could convert the timber of many acres into potash to 



126 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

tide them over the hard times, and at the same time were opening 
up their farms for pasturage. 

In all of this there was a sort of compensation for the misfortune 
of losing crops. The increased volume of potash made, called the 
cooper's trade into requisition ; and for many years the making of 
barrels in which to ship that product was a profitable business, fol- 
lowed by several persons. This furnished profitable employment 
to a number of men located mostly in the village, as that sort of busi- 
ness could be most profitably conducted near the " potasheries " as 
they were called. 

Another compensation for the suffering due to the poor crops 
of those unfavorable seasons was the increased interest which 
people began to take in agriculture as an industry. In 1820 an 
agricultural society was organized in town ; and for some years it 
was of the greatest service in gaining and diffusing knowledge upon 
the subject of agriculture. The leading men of the town read books 
and gleaned among the newspapers of the times for information on 
their calling as tillers of the soil. They conducted intelligent exper- 
ments, and as a result agriculture was very much improved. In 
nothing did the town profit more by this revived calling, upon 
which life depended more than on anything else, than the attention 
paid to the improvement of their stock. Hitherto their flocks and 
herds had been of rather an inferior grade, though possibly none the 
less fitted to the primitive conditions of life for being of the " scrub " 
stock. Conditions had now become so changed that with a better 
grade of stock the farms could be made to pay better returns. If 
the crops were less certain than in former times there was an abund- 
ance of pasturage that could easily sustain a large number of cattle 
and sheep which were then the most profitable to raise. It was not 
long before many of the farmers had large herds of the best cattle 
and flocks of the better breeds of sheep. About this time, for the 
first time in the history of the town, an intelligent interest began to 
be taken in the matter of fertilizing the soil. From the very earliest 
times little or no attention was given to this subject as the lands were 
rich, and newly-cleared lands took the place of that first cleared 
before it began to show much effects from exhaustion by continuous 
cultivation. 

The scientific study of agriculture taught them to return to the 
soil an equivalent for the crops taken from it ; to raise the best 
stock as it cost no more than to raise poor stock and gave them a 
much larger return in profits ; and also to use better implements for 
the cultivation of their soil. 

In a few instances the interest in new breeds of stock led some 
men into extreme measures. Joel Hemmenway and Josiah Bellows 
stocked their farms with merino sheep with the expectation of reap- 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 12/ 

ing great profits from them in an incredibly short time ; but they ■ 
were doomed to meet disappointment. Joel Hemmenway lost more 
than a dozen fine merino bucks he brought here expecting to sell 
at fabulous prices to the farmers, by wolves in a single night. 
Wolves were then abundant, and almost nightly somebody's sheep- 
fold was invaded by them. They were not content to kill what 
they wanted to eat ; often their diabolical disposition led them to 
destroy a whole herd after they had taken their fill on a few of their 
victims. They seem to have killed as a sort of diversion after the}- 
had their feast of blood and fat. 

At all events these gentlemen lost money on their ventures. They 
were not slow to discover their mistakes, and by devoting their atten- 
tion to other kinds of stock and crops soon retrieved their losses in 
the venture at raising fancy stock, when they should have been con- 
tent to give their attention to what was best calculated to bring a 
certain return for their labor and investments. With these better 
improvements once fairly established in the favor of the people, the 
seasons became more like those of earlier times, and crops became 
as certain as ever before, but new ones were discovered to be better 
adapted to their soil and seasons than the old-time ones. A greater 
variety of crops were cultivated, and, of course among the many, 
some of them were always good, so if some particular crop was a 
failure another would, in great measure, make up for the loss and 
disappointment from that source. 

During the whole of the period of poor seasons for farming the 
village kept up its relative increase of population over the rural sec- 
tion of the town. In 1825, there were thirty-four houses in the vil- 
lage between the Rev. Joseph Willard's place (now known as the 
Hanson place) and the Rosebrook place, where John Ingerson now 
lives on North Main street. None of these houses was painted, 
according to the recollection of the late Richard P. Kent, who came 
to town that year. The only painted buildings in town were tAvo 
stores. One of these was painted red and the other green, from 
which fact they were designated as the " red store," and the " green 
store." It is an interesting coincidence that the first of these painted 
houses should have been decorated in the first of what are called 
the " simple colors," red, and that the second one should have 
employed a combination of the other two simple colors, yellow and 
blue, to have produced its secondary color of green. This art of 
decoration began at the bottom and has steadily worked its way up 
until to-day few villages are so beautified by the use of paint upon 
its buildings as Lancaster; and even the farmhouses and other 
buildings display this same good taste in the matter of colors. 

At the time of which we are speaking, 1825, there was probably 
only one interior of a building decorated by painting. That one 



128 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

was the old meeting-house. Its pulpit and communion table were 
painted ; but as near as can now be learned, the painting did not 
extend any further than " the Holy place " of their temple. 

That painting was probably done in 1798, or soon after, as one 
would infer from the fact that Sylvanus Chessman circulated a 
subscription for that purpose on July 7th. Ed. Clark is men- 
tioned in it as working on the pulpit, and to do the painting; but it 
seems from an entry on the back of that document that a Mr. Phil- 
brook did the work, receiving for it one pound, eight shillings, and 
six shillings for oil. This document is still in the possession of J. S. 
Brackett. 

The other buildings of the village, apart from residences, were : 
The four stores, two hotels, two schoolhouses, the church, court- 
house, gun-house, and the log jail. The population was again 
rapidly increasing as many newcomers were then in town, about 
equally divided between the village enterprises and the farms. In 
five more years the population had reached 1,187, and many new 
enterprises had gained a footing among this larger number of cit- 
izens. 

The town though remote from the great centres of commercial 
activity was affected by a sort of tidal-wave of interest in the 
acquisition of land that swept over the entire country. Foreign 
immigration had rapidly increased from 7,912 in 1824, to 23,322 in 
1830. Most of these people found their way to the rural sections of 
the country; their object in coming was to acquire our cheap and 
productive lands and make homes. This fact stimulated the interest 
of speculative men throughout the nation to profit by this demand 
for new lands. During the next decade the speculation in lands, 
was carried to an extreme and ruinous degree. Throughout the 
country lands were bonded many times over, by which very heavy 
losses resulted to many persons ambitious to gain a fortune in a 
few years. While this craze did not extend to Lancaster to any 
great degree it did tend to encourage emigration to this northern 
section of the state ; and from this coming of home seekers the town 
profited materially as many good families settled here. But by far 
the greatest advantage to Lancaster from this general craze of land- 
speculation came from the enhanced value of the products of the 
farms. Almost every farm product increased in price, due to the 
general neglect of farming throughout the country by which a 
scarcity resulted. It so happened that the farms had become very 
productive again. Various kinds of business suffered from neglect, 
also, while the people ran to and fro seeking their fortunes in lands. 
In Lancaster the people gave themselves to the task of farming and 
developing their various business interests. 

When butter had reached fifty cents a pound, and cheese twenty- 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 1 29 

five, and pork sixteen cents, the farmers of this town had vast quan- 
tities of these, and other products equally high in price, to sell. The 
period had come to make money and they applied themselves to 
their vocation with zeal. Farmers grew wealthy, and merchants 
increased in number, and did a good business for many years 
following. Prosperity smiled upon all alike, and the town continued 
to enjoy a steady growth of population. 

The various industries that we mention in Part II flourished in a 
remarkable degree. The life of the community began to flow in 
broader and deeper channels ; an old type of social life and busi- 
ness began to yield to newer ones. Did space permit of it, and had 
we not already done so, we might recount here the innovation of 
hundreds of new articles of trade in the stores, of new articles of 
manufacture, of new customs and fashions welcomed by the people. 
When a newspaper was established by a few enterprising men in 
1838, the Whig and Aegis, its columns were literally crowded 
with the advertisements of the traders and artisans offering their 
new wares and skilled service to the public in the most inviting and 
tempting manner of the printer's art. Elaborate wood-cuts showed 
the latest styles of furniture, stoves and cooking utensils, hats of 
local and foreign manufacture, farm and other machinery, and a 
hundred other things of scarcely less importance to the comfort 
and welfare of the people. Such merchants as R. P. Kent, Royal 
Joyslin, B. H. Chadbourne, William T. Carlisle, William Cargill, and 
Bryant O. Stephenson, made trips to Boston and Portland once or 
twice a year to buy goods and study the markets, seldom returning 
without bringing something new to offer the people. Almost every 
article of merchandise known in the great markets of New England 
was to be found on the counters of those enterprising merchants, 
some of whom were men of uncommon ability as traders; and 
what they did to build up their town is beyond the power of any 
one to compute to-day, nor do we believe that they were themselves 
half conscious of what was resulting to the town from their efforts to 
develop their own business interests. Certainly others looking on 
at the time saw, and even at this late date, no doubt see in them only 
shrewd traders enhancing their own fortunes; but society is an 
organism, and what helps one doing a useful and legitimate business 
helps all parties to the social compact or community. Those men 
were breaking down the old, frontier civilization and introducing the 
broader cosmopolitan one by creating new hungers in the lives of 
the people in this remote town for the most comfortable and elegant 
things of the whole country. TK'o tempting display of new goods, 
and machinery before their customers was the natural and only way- 
to draw them out of the old, narrower life into one as broad as that 
of the entire country; it compelled them to think and feel as their 
10 



I30 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

fellow-men did in other and more favored communities. That is, 
after all the glamor and newness is worn off, what we call culture. 
It is leading men to think and feel as others have done, and by which 
process the individual partakes of all the elements of the strength 
of the many. That is the way in which progress is made ; and 
cannot we recognize in those old-time merchants the promoters of 
much of the culture of the town? Of course the newspapers and 
books the people read, the lectures and sermons the}' listened to, 
and the training and information afforded by the schools did much 
to advance the culture and refinement of the life of the people; but 
when full account of their influence is taken, it still leaves a large 
factor unaccounted for unless we recognize that more silent, yet 
none the less powerful, factor of the intercourse and interchange of 
ideas that go with trade and commerce. Of course men enter 
those pursuits primarily with the idea of enhancing their own for- 
tunes ; but no man can carry on any important business legitimately 
without fostering the interests of many more even, than those with 
whom he does business. The dishonest man, the tricky rogue, does 
much to injure the interests of other people and shake their con- 
fidence in others' integrity ; but society is not slow to detect them 
and place upon them the mark of their class. 

What I have said of the trader, the merchant, is true in a large 
measure of the manufacturer, the artisan, and the professional men 
of those early times ; they all did something to foster a newer type 
of social life. When Greenliaf C. Philbrook plied his art as painter, 
glazier, and paper hanger he was doing much to foster a more re- 
fined taste for the beautiful, the true, and the pure in the domestic 
life of the people. We have seen a few specimens of his work per- 
formed about 1838, wdiich, although it provokes a smile when com- 
pared with the house decoration of to-day, was yet, nevertheless, a 
great help to pave the way for the more perfect order of things in 
our day. The decorations of those days were mostly in the simple 
colors. The wall papers contained large patterns or flowers, the lat- 
ter conventionalized ones, for there was never anything seen on 
earth bearing such flowers and fruits as they abounded in. The 
colors were generally red, blue, yellow, and green ; but a few years 
later the modified colors or tints began to make their appearance, 
and the figures and patterns were in keeping with those of our day. 
The greatest changes in these matters took place during the decade 
between 1840 and 1850, which has been rightly designated as a 
transition period. Prior to that period changes were slow, and what 
iew were made were a sort of rehfctant yielding to the inevitable. 
After that period a much more rapid progress w^as made in all 
things pertaining to the social and domestic life of the town. The 
provincial character of the town began to fade out, and the opposi- 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 131 

tlon to changes to what was undoubtedly a larger and more refined 
life, grew less as the years went by, so that after a time the wiser 
ones, who are always the fashioners of the life of every community, 
learned that the new is old, and the old is ever new through the 
ceaseless changes that take place in the evolution of societ}' when 
one penetrates beneath the surface of appearances and breaks 
through the incrustations of habits by which men are often bound 
to mere surface indications of reality. It is so in all things. 

If the town had lost many of its citizens from the various causes I 
have named, there yet remained a considerable number of the 
sturdiest, wisest, and bravest of her men. To that number was 
added by emigration from some of the older settlements south 
of the town, some others of like character who saw great possibil- 
ities in this new section of the state. At any time from 1825 to 
1830, the traveler passing along the river road between the south 
and the north lines of the town would have passed the thrifty homes 
of the following named men: John Burgin, Samuel Burgin, Artemas 
Lovejoy, Ziba Lynds, John Stockwell, Josiah Bellows, 2d, Emmons 
Stockwell, Joel Page, Benjamin Stanley, William Stanley, William 
Lovejoy, Josiah Hobart, Samuel Hannux, Josiah Smith, Samuel 
White, Charles Baker, Thomas Carlisle, Benjamin Hunking, 
Samuel A. Pearson, Warren Porter, Benjamin Boardman, Allen 
Smith, George W. Perkins, John Perkins, Isaac Darby, Richard P. 
Kent, William Farrar, Jared W. Williams, William Cargill, Royal 
Joyslin, Levi Barnard, Francis Bingham, David Greenleaf, Jacob E. 
Stickney, Reuben Stephenson, Lieut. Benjamin Stephenson, Turner 
Stephenson, Sylvanus Chessman, Silas Chessman, Ephraim Stock- 
well, Moses T. Hunt, Jonathan Willard, Charles J. Stuart, Jonas 
Baker, Rev. Joseph Willard, Adino N. Brackett, John W. Weeks, 
Benjamin Adams, Lemuel Adams, Moses White, John H. White, 
John M. Denison, William Denison, Eliphalet Lyman, Ashael Go- 
ing, Francis Wilson, Samuel Philbrook, G. C. Philbrook, Andrew 
Adams, William Moore, Heber Blanchard, a Mr. Holmes, Gideon 
Smith, Frederick Messer, Joseph Holton, Col. Stephen Wilson, Gen. 
John Wilson, John Dewey, John Cram, Moses Church, Ephraim 
Mahurin, Levi Church, Noyes Denison, Ariel Rosebrook, John 
Straw. Along other thoroughfares in and out of the village lived 
the following representative men of the town, also: Horace Whit- 
comb, Allen Smith, Samuel Rines, George Bellows, in the village, 
and the Lovejoys, Savages, Wentworths, Chapmans, Stones, Balches, 
Aspenwalls, Farnhams, Howes, Stebbens, Boutwells, LeGros, East- 
mans, Freemans, outside the village. 

In this whole list of names there are but few men who were not 
of the highest order of intelligence and character. They were such 
a class of men as are a guarantee of the success of any community 



132 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

they choose to Hve in. Besides them there were living on the vari- 
ous side roads, east, around Mt. Prospect, and over Stebbens hill, 
about an equal number of like men. No community can fail with 
such an array of noble men in it; and Lancaster was not to fail. 
There was before her a splendid future, in which she was deserving 
of prosperity and the happiness of her citizens. The steady efforts 
and patient endurance of those men began to tell for the better soon 
after 1830, since which time plenty has rewarded the efforts of 
every industrious and honest member of the community. The vol- 
ume of produce was rapidly increased, and of course an increased 
amount of business was done by the various traders. So great was 
the increase of business that the town for the first time in its -his- 
tory, began to feel the need of a bank of exchange and deposit; 
and accordingly one was established in 1832, opening for business 
July I, 1833, in the house of Gen. John Wilson at the north end of 
Main street. The demands upon it must have been considerable, 
for its capital was $50,000. For a full account of this and other 
banking ventures the reader is referred to Part II, Chapter VIII. 

With the increase of population to 1,187, ''^ 1830, and the im- 
proved condition of the roads, business rapidly expanded. With 
better roads communication with the outside world was easier. 
While only a few years before it took nearly five days to reach Bos- 
ton, Mass., by stage, the same journey could be made in two days 
in 1840. 

In 1838 the business, political, and intellectual interests of the 
town seemed to justif}^ the establishment of a newspaper, and ac- 
cordingly a few of the leading business men backed such an enter- 
prise with enough capital to allow a couple of young men to offer 
the people a well-edited Whig newspaper, an account of which we 
have given in another place in this history. 

While this paper served the purpose of an advertising medium, as 
well as a means of ministering to the intellectual wants of the commu- 
nity, it simply stirred up the people on political lines. The staunch 
and earnest Democrats, of whom there were many, soon started 
a paper of their own political creed and party — the Cods County 
Democrat. Those two newspapers were ably edited ; they had to 
be to meet the approval and patronage of an intelligent class of 
readers. They discussed ably all the national, state, and local ques- 
tions in their editorials and contributed articles. Their space was 
about evenly divided between news items, editorials, agriculture, and 
literary matters, leaving nearly a third of the papers filled with ad- 
vertisements of all sorts of things. 

In those days there was more leisure time in the average life of 
the population than there is in the present. That leisure was due to 
the fact that there was vastly less to take up the time, interest, 



A TRANSITION TERIOD. 133 

and attention of people than now. The intelligent and moral class 
devoted their leisure to reading and social visiting, from which there 
resulted a vast amount of information on a variety of subjects and a 
degree of sociability that does not now exist. To any student of 
history it goes without argument that there was a higher degree of 
originality, and a stronger personality in the men of that day than 
there is at the present time ; not that we know less, but that we 
know few things so thoroughly as those forefathers did. There was 
nothing in the life of that time corresponding to what we call the 
"machinery" of our modern political, ecclesiastical, and educational 
organization. I do not wish to be understood as advocating the 
pessimistic notion that the men of the present are degenerating, that 
they are bundles of vice and trickery, while the men of fifty years 
ago were faultless, or nearly so. These differences are relative and 
are the characteristics of the peculiar stages through which society 
is passing in its normal evolution, and is due to well-understood 
laws, now that sociology has become a tolerably exact science. 
Society has its infancy of puerility; its >'outh, characterized by a 
spirit of adolescence; its maturit}', characterized by virility; and its 
old age, characterized by senility. They who would be leaders in 
the affairs of the community would do well, therefore, to give due 
heed to " Rohmer's law of parties." Society is never a yielding mass 
of humanity that will stay long molded in any arbitrary form under 
the powerful touch of a leader. Its elasticity and life will bring it 
back to its normal conditions sooner or later. Lancaster is a good 
example of these facts ; it has gone steadily on developing without 
any of the " hot-house" methods that promise so much and perform 
so little for a communit^^ For sixty years its growth of population, 
business, and wealth has been normal. The growth from 1820 to 1850, 
was a solid one, neither rapid nor slow. It indicates that the people 
were intelligent, industrious and honest, and that all their affairs 
received careful attention. From 1825 to 1840 there had been a 
gain of a number of houses in the village, which prior to that time 
was called very truly " the street." With its thirty-four houses strung 
along more than a mile of street, dusty in summer and piled full of 
snow in winter, there was little of the appearance of a village, — simply 
a street where the houses were a little thicker than through the farm- 
ing sections. The population had reached the number of 1,316, 
about one fourth of whom lived in the village and found employ- 
ment in its mills, sawmill, cloth mill, tannery, clapboard mill, 
shingle mill, carriage and furniture factories, blacksmith shops, 
stores, cooper shops and the various professions of law, medicine, 
divinity and the like. About everybody was employed at some use- 
ful occupation, and plenty blessed every home where happy wives, 
mothers, and children e\'en, were bus\' with some of the man\' tasks 



134 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

that go far to stop the leaks and add to the productive power of a 
community. It was a settled doctrine of the people of those times 
that every able-bodied person should be a producer as well as a 
consumer of wealth. In an address delivered before the Coos 
Agricultural Society in i82i,AdinoN. Brackett urged the prop- 
osition that every one in the family should have some share in its 
work with many very cogent arguments, devoting a large portion of 
his address to that one doctrine. So generally was that doctrine 
believed and acted upon that the town was free from habitual loafers 
and idlers. There were a few old " topers," who squandered the 
most of their substance on " flip," and rum at the taverns, and a very 
few who did small jobs about the village at small prices. There were 
many workmen of a high grade of skill employed at the various 
trades, then followed in the village, who became independent in their 
worldly circumstances. 

Lancaster had gone through the panic of 1837 without scarcely 
feeling the disturbance that carried down so many business enter- 
prises elsewhere. There was not an instance of bankruptcy in the 
town; but on the other hand there was a condition of prosperity, 
while other sections of the country suffered so severely from the panic. 

The Millerite excitement of 1843, although creating some interest 
among its few adherents in town, had not called attention away from 
business affairs as it had done in Whitefield, and several adjoining 
towns in Vermont. There had come to be quite a variety of religious 
beliefs held by Lancaster people, but they were of the less fanatical 
types, and consequently things were more even in their way through 
that distressing craze about the world's ending, than in many another 
section of the country. When the twenty-third day of October, on 
which Millerites predicted the end of the world was to be witnessed, 
came, the people went about their business as usual. I have not 
been able to learn of any persons who gave up their occupations to 
look for the end of things. The late R. P. Kent recorded in his 
diary on that day, " This day, according to the predictions of the 
Millerites is the end of world"; but he went on waiting on his cus- 
tomers just as if it were not the last day of time. So did the rest of 
the people, I fancy. 

But if religious excitement had no effect upon the people of the 
town they were not proof against the excitement of war or politics. 
When the " Indian Stream" war broke out in 1835, a number of men 
flocked to the village to offer themselves for service in the Twenty- 
fourth regiment; but of the number only the five following persons 
were needed to complete Capt. James Mooney's company: James H. 
Balch, Douglas Ingerson, Dennis Jones, John Perkins, and Charles F. 
Stone. Although this was not an affair that affected the town in any 
way yet there was much interest felt among Lancaster people in hav- 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 135 

ing the trouble speedily settled as it had kept the country to the 
north in an unsettled state ever since 1819. 

When the call to arms came again in 1847, on the occasion of the 
war with Mexico, Lancaster furnished a number of men for the service 
who were included in Pierce's and Ransom's command, the Ninth or 
New England Volunteers. 

Although the sentiment of this section of the state was strongly 
against the war, a number of men yielded to what they were pleased 
to consider their country's call to duty and went to the front. The 
recruiting ofificer arrived here Sunday, April 1 1, 1847, and on Tues- 
day, the 13th, a detachment of recruits left for the front. Some 
of them died during the hard marches in Mexico. Those who served 
in that war have been mentioned in our chapter on military affairs 
in Part II, and the reader is referred to that chapter for fuller in- 
formation. 

The political and civil consciousness of the people of this town and 
surrounding section of country was early awakened, hence the more 
than common interest felt by them in all public matters. Seldom 
was a town settled by such public-spirited men as the pioneers of 
Lancaster ; and for many years the best men who came to the then 
distant town were men of like mind with the first settlers. The same 
was true of the other towns with which they were brought most in 
contact, — Haverhill, Jefferson, Northumberland, and Guildhall in 
Vermont. In all those towns the leading men took a deep and vital 
interest in the affairs of the state and nation. Then conditions were 
such here, on the frontier of the nation, that they felt a responsibility 
in standing as the advance guard of the state and country in Northern 
New England. These facts cultivated in them an interest in matters 
of politics and state, and that interest has never lost its hold upon 
the people of this town. No political movement of any magnitude 
is ever contemplated in the state without reckoning on Coos county, 
and particularly on Lancaster. 

Perhaps no decade in the history of the town saw so many, and 
such radical changes as that from 1840 to 1850, during which 
nearly all vestiges of the old, provincial customs gave place to new 
and cosmopolitan customs. By its own success the older life of the 
town had worked this change, which was in no wise announced with 
heraldry or trumpets. The people never said by convention, " Go 
to now, we will make radical changes, and many of them in our 
town." They came as silently as growth does in the life of a child, so 
slow and insidious that the most careful observer does not see it 
until it is accomplished. So with the passing of the old forms and 
customs once so prevalent in the life of the people of Lancaster. 
No revolutions were planned and executed with rancor and conten- 
tion over the relative merits of things old or new ; but a grand evo- 



136 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

lution was working out results that involved the best thought and 
efforts of four or five generations since the Puritan ancestry of these 
people had landed on the shores of New England. Few, if any, of 
the men and women of that period were conscious of the results 
that were destined to follow the earnest and persistent efforts they 
were putting forth in the competition and cooperation that was 
going on in the life of the communit)-. Perhaps they were content 
with their daily bread, the comfort and the happiness they enjoyed 
from well-ordered lives, not for a moment aware that these things 
were the greatest factors of change in the life of a village or town. 

To the student of history there were present symptoms of all the 
changes that have since taken place ; but one never seems to be 
able to fully comprehend the remote significance of the activities 
with which he is most intimately connected, and the movements of 
which he is a part. The business, social, and intellectual life of the 
town was struggling for closer connection with the life of the coun- 
try at large. There were earnest efforts being put forth to render 
communication with the larger centers -of trade and social life easier 
and quicker. With the coming of railroads so near as Lowell, Mass., 
the distance to Boston did not seem ^u/^c so long; and when the 
railroad reached Concord, N. H., it was possible to reach Boston in 
a little over twenty-four hours by stage and rail in 1849, and later, 
when the Passumpsic railroad reached Mclndoes Falls, the trip was 
•still shortened by some hours. People at once began to travel more ; 
their products and the merchandise for which they were exchanged 
•could reach their destinations in their respective markets in a few 
■days. The entire life of the people in all their concerns now as- 
sumed a quickened pace. The quiet and deliberate manners of the 
past began to yield to the nervous, impulsive manners of the larger 
communities. The merchants caught up the proverb of the city 
merchant — "Quick sales and small profits" — and the people began 
to look for those quick sales and cheaper goods in the hope of get- 
ting more for their labor. 

No sooner had the commercial life of the town come under the 
spell of the new era of rapidity of action than the whole life of the 
town pulsed with the almost wild enthusiasm. The business men 
and farmers were alike interested in inducing a railroad to connect 
Lancaster with Concord, N. H., or Portland, Me. The valley of the 
Ammonoosuc and the notch through the White Mountains were 
explored in the hope of engaging some company to build a road 
through either one or the other of those regions. P^verything 
seemed to depend on the quickening of the activities of the town, 
and in keeping in step with the onward march of progress through- 
out the country. 

While all this effort was being put forth there was going on every 





James W. Weeks. 



William D. Weeks. 





William D. Spaulding. 



Enoch Lip.f.ev Colhy 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 137 

conceivable degree and kind of change in the Hfe of the people. 
They began to see how, with railroads, could be turned to account 
the hitherto unused resources of the section of timberland to the 
north, and which could be handled here with profit to the com- 
munity. Such routes were to be opened up through this northern 
section, and Lancaster was anxious to have them pass through its 
territory. 

The circumstances of life we have been recounting had the ten- 
dency to produce a class of men of great capability in many ways. 
From the earliest times the conditions had been such, in this north- 
ern section of country at least, as to produce in the inhabitants a 
degree of versatility or readiness to adapt themselves to a variety 
of occupations. Such conditions and traditions tended to make the 
men of the second and third generations conscious of their inherited 
abilties, and led to a disposition to assert and maintain their posi- 
tion before the public. They were frequently called into the service 
•of the state and nation because of their capability of rendering val- 
uable services. 

Many of the men of that time living in the town could take a 
surveyor's compass and run a line with as much accuracy as any 
man of our day. Their education was of a practical kind. It was 
no uncommon thing for surveying to be taught in almost any school 
that was in the least degree above the ordinary school of the " three 
R's." Almost every family had in its membership some bright boy 
who would learn to use the compass. 

When the boundary survey between the United States and Canada 
was made in 1845, ^o'-"'' Lancaster men were called into the service 
and did very good work during the course of that portion of the 
survey under the charge of Commissioner Albert Smith of Portland, 
Me., from Hall's Stream to Lake Champlain. These men were: 
Hon. James W. Weeks, his brother, John Weeks, John Hubbard 
Spaulding, John M. WHiipple, and Joel Hemmenway. To James 
W. Weeks was assigned the task of making the preliminary surveys 
and sketches for the topographical map of the entire line, while the 
other Lancaster men acted in various capacities as chain carriers, 
setters of the monuments, and using the compass on the topographi- 
cal work. This party was fitted out in Lancaster, April 29, 1845. 
The commissioner and some of his surveyors and engineers arrived 
in Lancaster on April 28, and at once sought some one who pos- 
sessed a knowledge of the section of the country between here and 
where their work lay. It was soon found that the man who pos- 
sessed the knowledge they sought was James W. Weeks, a land- 
surveyor of some reputation who had been engaged in the survey 
of state lands on Hall's stream in the town of Pittsburg, some }'ears 
previous to this time. He produced a rough map of the section 



138 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

which the commissioner and his chief engineer copied, after which 
Mr. Weeks was engaged to join the party which he did in a few 
days as soon as he could arrange his business to be absent for some 
months. He at once joined the party, and found the three other 
Lancaster men I have named already engaged for their respective 
parts in the business. 

The actual work began in May, and lasted until September. 
After the completion of the survey and the party was disbanded, 
the work of completing the topographical map of the line was 
assigned to Mr. Weeks to be done in Lancaster. Mr. Weeks com- 
pleted his map, and upon the direction of Major John Pope 
of Bull Run fame delivered it to him on September 26, 1845, ^^ 
Richford, Vt. This piece of work gave the best of satisfaction, and 
has never been found defective in any respect. 

Surveys and Marking of the Eastern Boundary of N. H. — 
When the boundary line between the states of Maine and New 
Hampshire became a matter of greater importance than when at 
first established, giving rise to disputes, the two states, by commis- 
sioners appointed by their respective legislatures, caused a survey 
to be made in 1828. The commissioners on the part of New 
Hampshire were the Hon. Ichabod Bartlett of Portsmouth and 
Hon. John W. Weeks of Lancaster. 

These commissioners, acting with those of Maine, began work at 
East pond, the head of Salmon Falls river, and during that and the 
next season ran the line to the northern limit, marking the same by 
a few stone monuments and by blazing trees. In time this marking 
became a matter of uncertainty, giving rise to disputes as the timber 
lands of that region were rapidly increasing in value. Accordingly, 
the two states again appointed commissioners in 1858 to " ascertain, 
survey, and mark " the boundary line from the northwest corner of 
Fryeburg to the Canada line. 

The governor of New Hampshire appointed Col. Henry O. Kent, 
then clerk of the house of representatives, as commissioner on that 
survey on the part of this state. 

Receiving his appointment on June 28, 1858, Colonel Kent at 
once began preparations for the task before him, and he took as 
assistants Lieut. James S. Brackett and Lieut. John G. Lewis of Lan- 
caster. Joining the commissioner of the state of Maine, the party 
started September 14, 1858, from Wilson's Mills on the Magalloway, 
for the northern end of the line. 

The task was an arduous one, but was finished on October 13, 
1858, by the erection of the last monument at the northeast corner 
of the town of Fryeburg. The line was marked by renewing the 
old markings and monuments, and the erection of many new monu- 
ments at road crossings and other conspicuous points along the line. 



A TRANSITION PERIOD. 139 

Their work was so well performed that the line has never since been 
a question of important uncertainty or dispute. 

The men of the decade between 1840 and 1850, those who were 
leaders in thought and action in the community, were of good 
sense and judicial judgment. There were then a number of men in 
Lancaster who could have filled any position of responsibility in the 
state, and others who were shrewd men of affairs. A lively interest 
was taken in all the important questions of the day, and not a few 
men and women among them were possessed of a considerable criti- 
cal faculty. One of the most knotty problems, however, that Lan- 
caster men ever ran against was what was known at the time as 
" spirit rappings." The notorious Fox sisters of Hydeville, N. Y., 
in 1848, set the world wild over what were supposed to be the 
rappings of the spirits of the dead. All over the country ignorant 
and visionary people were being frightened almost out of their wits 
by a self-imposed delusion. But long before the Fox sisters, the 
delusion reached Lancaster, and, as usual with it, the attack was 
upon a bevy of school-girls in the stilly and mysterious time of 
early night when all things are hushed into that stillness in which 
one can almost hear the workings of his own mind. All of a sud- 
den rappings were heard by them, as they supposed, on the wall be- 
tween the room they were in and an adjoining one. Alarm at once 
took hold of everybody. Was it some one trying to work upon 
their fear or credulity? A search by an irate father of some of the 
girls failed to discover mischievous boys hidden away in the house. 
He laid by the whip with which he intended to administer a mer- 
ited punishment upon the wicked boys, and gave his thought to a 
solution of the mysterious rappings, becoming more bold and loud 
as longer the frightened family listened to them. What could it 
be? Was it not a miracle? Was it some token of good or ill given 
by a good God? Or was it the work of a demon? If not one or 
the other of these, might it not be what everybody had heard so 
much about — the raps from spirits? 

Court was in session, and the village was favored with the pres- 
ence of some of the ablest jurists on the bench in New Hampshire. 
Why not call into requisition this and the local talent at solving 
mysteries ? 

That is just what was done. A gathering of distinguished men 
was summoned to investigate the mysterious phenomena, among 
whom we find the names of such reputable men as Judge Tillotson, 
Judge Cushman, Maj. John W. Weeks, Esq., A. N. Brackett, Reu- 
ben Stephenson, Gov. J. W. Williams, Col. John H. White, Gen. 
John Wilson, besides many others almost as noted for learning and 
sound judgment. 

This company set themselves seriously to the task of unravel- 



I40 • HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ing the mystery that had thrown the village into a furor of excite- 
ment. They observed, they experimented, and they discussed the 
question; but in the end they had to give it up as unsolved, if not, 
indeed, unsolvable, and the community in general accepted their 
decision as wise and just. The matter never reached as high a 
degree of excitement here as in many other villages throughout 
the country, but there have always been a few persons who regard 
the so-called phenomena as a mystery, portentous of something, 
they hardly know what. 

Such delusions have never carried many people into the extremes 
so well calculated to mislead the unscientific minds of the masses 
in this town. So far as we can learn, there has never been subse- 
quent occasion for the formation of investigating committees in town 
to study this or any other delusion. An occasional ghost story 
has been invented by the " smart young fellows of the streets," 
whose tastes have been about as crude as their ignorance was dense. 
Nothing of importance has ever come of such attempts to play upon 
the fear and credulity of the ignorant and unwary. One of such 
attempts called out from an editor at one time the suggestion that 
a shotgun was the best antidote for ghosts, and volunteered to go 
as one of the pall-bearers. The ghost took the hint. Such has 
invariably been the attitude of the community toward ghosts. 



CHAPTER XI. 
LANCASTER FROM 1850 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

The middle of the present century marks a point in time when 
Lancaster was rapidly leaving off her old characteristics and taking 
on the new ones that were destined to make her a community like 
all others throughout New England. The old pioneer customs and 
institutions were practically gone by 1850. The community was 
astir with feelings of anxiety to get into line with other towns in 
the acceptance of all sorts of improvements. Lancaster was only 
forty-eight hours from Boston by the means of travel then in vogue, 
and the railroad was expected to shorten that by nearly one half 
within a few years. In 1848 steps had again been taken to get 
a railroad to Lancaster, and it was only a few years until the ''White 
Mountain" did get as far as Littleton (1853), running up from 
Wells River. 

Times had been fairly good, and the people were in a prosperous 
condition by the middle of the century. The population of the 
town had grown to 1,559, a majority of whom lived in the village 
and found means of livelihood at something else than farmine. In 




Mt. Prospect. 



Mt. Pleasant. 

From Bunker Hill. 




Village and Meadows fro.m Bunker Hill. 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 141 

fact, the town did not then seem so much a farming community as 
it had for so many years. This of itself may be taken as an indica- 
cation of prosperity. No town is prosperous when all its people 
follow the same occupation, be it what it may. It does not take a 
body of workers long to produce more of a giv^en class of things 
than it has use for, and decline must as inevitably follow such accum- 
ulation of goods that are steadily decreasing in value in propor- 
tion to their increase in volume. The tiller of the soil can only find 
a profitable sale for his commodities when there are many people 
producing something else while they are not competing with him. 
When Lancaster ceased to be a town in which every man was a 
farmer, or again every man a maker of potash or potash barrels, 
it began to expand and prosper. 

By the time of which I am speaking, a majority of the people 
were following occupations that were practically new ones in the 
town, such at least as their fathers had not been called upon to 
follow. Some vocations had ceased to exist, but the growth was 
from the demand for new ones to meet the changes that had come. 

All kinds of business transactions were greatly accelerated by the 
approach of "the railroads. Even in 1850, when the railroad had 
reached no nearer than Wells River, the merchant could order 
goods from Boston by mail and have them upon his shelves inside 
of six days, a thing that fifty )'ears before would have been thought 
utterly impossible within that length of time. Such, however, was 
the truth. I find in the diary kept by the late R. P, Kent that he 
ordered goods from Boston by the noon mail on Monday, Nov. 1 1 , 
1850, and received them at noon the Saturday following, November 
16. That event was considered one of importance, and rightly, too, 
for it was fraught with great significance to the business interests of 
the place. The most important feature of the transaction was in 
in the lessening of the freight rates. This change brought the rates 
down to seventy-three cents from Boston to Lancaster, by rail and 
team. This w^as a portentous event, one that stands as a milestone 
on the road of development. A little circumstance like this often 
has the effect to throw the schedule of economic values out of order 
and demand their readjustment on a basis of new facts ; and that 
is just what occurred then in Lancaster. For a few years all kinds 
of business affairs were restless. Some accommodated themselves 
to the changed condition of things and prospered the more for it, 
while others, either unable or too slow to make the change in 
methods of transacting business, suffered loss or failed. 

The greatest gain from the coming of the railroads so near was 
in connection with the lumber interests. The wealth of timber that 
covered the hills of Lancaster and towns adjoining it was practically 
of no commercial value on account of the distance from the markets. 



142 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

It was then considered feasible to use the rivers as highways for the 
shipment of lumber, but it was not possible for an individual of 
limited capital to float logs a hundred miles or more into close 
proximity to the markets, and there cut the lumber, as is now done 
by such large corporations as the Connecticut River Lumber Com- 
pany, which cuts some years as many as seventy-five million feet of 
lumber from logs chiefly floated down the river from this country. 
The most valuable pine, and other timber, had been extravagantly 
cut, and in some instances wasted in the early days of the present 
century. No one seemed to see in the timber of the town any great 
wealth until about the time the railroads came so near that it was 
profitable to cut the lumber and haul it to the roads for shipment to 
the large markets ; by that time very little good timber remained in 
Lancaster. 

When the Atlantic & St. Lawrence railroad (now the Grand 
Trunk) reached Northumberland in 1852, the people began to 
utilize their timber by getting it into shape for shipment on that 
line of road. An important interest was centered in what was called 
" ship knees." These were made from the stumps of the tam- 
arack, following the bend of the roots as they diverged from the 
trunks of the trees ; a knee, or right-angled bend could be got out of 
most any tamarack tree. These were used for knees, or braces, in 
the old style of ship-building before metal came into use for braces, 
as at present. The swamps of this town and adjoining towns were 
covered with a large growth of tamarack, and for some years afforded 
the people an occupation that paid well. From the trunks of the 
trees, from which the knees were taken, what was called " ship tim- 
ber" was made, which was an equal source of gain to the people 
engaged in the enterprise. There were no persons who devoted all 
their time to this work ; but the farmers and their farm-hands found 
it a profitable means of employing the winter months " to keep busy." 
This industry was followed until the tamarack was all cut off. 
The late R. P. Kent noted in his diary, January 5, 1855, that teams 
^numbering 40 horses had passed his store that day drawing ship 
)knees and ship timber to Northumberland. This winter occupa- 
tion in no way interfered with the farming enterprises ; but on the 
contrary made it more profitable, as it came at a season when the 
farmer would otherwise have lain practically idle for several months. 
It was an equal source of profit to the laboring class who depended 
upon being employed by others. At that time there was no float- 
ing population following the lumber business as now. The operator 
in those enterprises had to secure his help from the town, off the 
farms, and from the village; and what profit resulted from such un- 
dertakings helped more directly to develop the enterprises of the 
town. 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 43 

When the ship timber was exhausted the people next turned 
their attention to getting out lumber for sugar boxes, shooks, and 
common grades of lumber, which for many years continued a profit- 
able business. 

From 1850, until the breaking out of the civil war, times were 
good, and this section of country was prosperous. Those engaged 
in the various kinds of lumber business made money ; and the 
farmer got good prices for his products. In 1855 farm produce 
was uncommonly high. Wheat was $2 a bushel; corn, $1.25; 
oats, 30 cents; buckwheat, 50 cents; butter, 20 cents a pound; 
cheese, 10 cents; lard, 14 cents; pork, 8 cents; beef, 4 1-2 cents; 
potatoes, 50 cents; hay, $10 per ton; wood, $1.20 per cord. 

With a railroad to Northumberland, only 10 miles distant, and 
another to Littleton, 21 miles, goods were being cheapened and com- 
petition in trade much encouraged by the lower freight rates, only 
then about one half what they had been a few years before. About 
this time the traveling salesman began to appear in almost all lines 
of commercial business. He could reach a wide territory by the 
combined service of railroads and stage-coaches. When the new 
Lancaster House was opened for the reception of guests for the 
first time on the fourth of August, 1858, commercial travelers were 
on hand to the number of eight, from which we may infer that they 
were pretty plenty. Business was brisk in this northern section of 
the state, and Lancaster was then, as now, a trading center for a 
large section of country about it. 

About this time Lancaster, especially the village, began to be 
stirred up over the anti-slavery question. The centre of the " infec- 
tion," as it was then regarded, was the Rev. George M. Rice, minis- 
ter of the Unitarian church, who was a rabid abolitionist. He prob- 
ably never saw a slave in his life, but reached his position of enmity 
to the institution from the literary and humanitarian grounds, for it 
was then being vigorously discussed all over the country. 

The Cods Republican, established by Daniel A. Bowe and David 
B. Allison, December 10, 1855, took strong anti-slavery position 
on all political questions ; and being ably edited for a country news- 
paper, had considerable influence in the community. In the early 
spring of 1859, public lectures were delivered upon the subject. 
The first lecture of the kind, outside of the pulpit, was delivered 
by a Mr. Depp, an enfranchised negro, who had been a slave. He 
lectured in the town hall, March 7, 1859, to a large audience of 
Lancaster people. On August 5, 1859, William Lloyd Garrison, 
the famous champion of anti-slavery doctrines, lectured in the town 
hall on "American Slavery." But the people felt interested in that 
cause, as we may infer from the fact that in the fall of 1856, a popu- 
lar contribution was made for the so-called " Free State " sufferers 



144 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

in Kansas. A box of things contributed for that purpose was 
shipped from here by the contributors on October 22, 1856. 

When the question of slavery came into national politics as one 
of the causes contributing to the attempt at the disruption of the 
union, it was not a strange question to Lancaster people. They 
had given it serious consideration, as they had done all the great 
questions of the times, for they were not slow to take an interest 
in national affairs. From the formation of the town down to to- 
day its people have always been keenly interested in state and 
national affairs. 

When the census of i860 was taken it showed a population of 
2,020. Of that number about 1,400 lived in the village, which then 
comprised 103 houses located on thirteen streets. The town then 
cast 345 votes in the November election. The growth in popula- 
tion was healthy, there being an increase of 461 for the last decade; 
and the growth of wealth kept in about the same ratio of increase. 
Such was the community that }'oung Emmons Stockwell must have 
dreamed of helping to plant, as alone he wandered through these 
broad meadow lands more than a century before, when returning 
from the expedition into Canada against the Indians, which had 
crushed out one of the cruellest bands of savages that this section of 
country had in it, making possible the settlement of these fine lands, 
heretofore a hazardous and dangerous undertaking from which the 
strongest heart shrank with fear. It had had its reverses, as we 
have seen, but it had also had its prolonged seasons of prosperity, 
and the last three decades had been prosperous ones for Lancaster. 
She had, in i860, reached a point in numbers and wealth that only the 
most far-sighted of her former citizens had ever thought of. Little 
did any one surmise that there was awaiting this, as thousands of 
other prosperous and peaceful places, an experience that was to 
leave her people wiser, but infinitely sadder over the loss of the 
choicest of her sons who were destined to go to the slaughter of one 
of the most cruel wars in the history of this, or any other country, 
while those who were to survive and return to their native firesides 
were to come back broken in body and spirit to pass the remainder 
of broken lives where all had seemed to offer them so much pros- 
perity and happiness a year before. But such was to be one of the 
chapters in her history ; and when the crisis came, when the red 
hand of sedition, rebellion, and disunion had been raised in defiance 
of law and the peace of the nation, Lancaster heard the call to 
arms as the lovers of their country only hear — to obey. 

LANCASTER DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 

In the fall election of i860, the town cast 233 votes for Lincoln 
as against iio for Douglas, and one each for Breckinridge and Bell, 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 45 

the four presidential candidates. This fact shows that the union 
sentiment in Lancaster was strong; nor must we reckon the fol- 
lowers of Douglas as indifferent to the Union, for many of them 
were found among our volunteers when the Rebellion was de- 
clared and troops were called for. 

One week to a day from the issuing of the call by President 
Lincoln for 75,000 volunteers, for three months, to put down the 
Rebellion, a recruiting ofifice was opened here with Col. Henry O. 
Kent as recruiting officer, April 22, 1861. In two days twenty- 
four men were enlisted. Recruiting continued rapidly, until nearly a 
full company was raised and sent to Portsmouth, where the Second 
Regiment was then forming, making the bulk of Company F. The 
regiment left the state June 21, reaching Washington in time to be 
in the Union lines at the Bull Run battle. The First Regiment 
was mustered out August 9, 1861 ; but most of them re-enlisted 
under the call for 300,000 men for three years. Under this second 
call for volunteers there were enlisted twenty-three men from August 
13-20, for the Third regiment, E. Q. Fellows, colonel, and sent to 
camp at Concord. 

On August 27, 1 86 1, Capt. Edmund Brown was commissioned to 
raise a company. He enlisted a number of men, and finally on 
October 7, 1861, joined the famous Fifth New Hampshire Volun- 
teers then being raised by Col. E. E. Cross, a native of Lancaster, 
at Camp Jackson, Concord. 

We cannot here follow the Lancaster men who went into the 
service of their country at this trying time, for to do so would 
require that we recount a large portion of the history of the Civil 
War, as these men were in many commands, and often engaged in 
the hard-fought battles on which the settlement of the great conflict 
hinged. Others have told the story of their service ably; and the 
state has generously provided for the publication of a history of 
every separate regiment of its soldiers during the war, which his- 
tories are now or soon will be available in all public libraries. 

Lancaster contributed the following men to the Second New 
Hampshire Sharpshooters : Joseph K. Hodge, James S. Kent, 
Reuben F. Carter, Thomas S. Ellis, Reuben Gray, Horace F. Morse, 
and Timothy Grannis. 

During those periods, when enlistment of volunteers was going 
on, all interests centered upon the recruiting office. Martial music 
filled the air, and patriotic speeches were made, and in every way 
the younger men of the town were made to feel the call of duty 
singling them out as the ones who were needed at the front to put 
down the Rebellion, and save the Union inviolate and glorious to 
their posterity. 

Mr. A. F. Whipple trained a band in i860, which furnished the 



146 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

music on those occasions of recruiting, and the departure of the 
men, which latter event called out many citizens to see them off for 
duty and danger. 

In October, 1862, Jared I. Williams was commissioned as recruit- 
ing officer to raise a company for the Seventeenth New Hampshire 
Volunteers. 

It was soon discovered that our army, so hastily massed, with 
nothing previously done for its health and comfort either in camp 
or on long marches, or in the hospitals, was the prey of diseases 
and casualties which the men were wholly unaccustomed to. Their 
sufferings were so great as to appeal to the sympathy and humane 
feelings of their fellow-citizens at home in that most practical 
manner that made the " United States Sanitary Commission " and 
the "United States Christian Commission" institutions of the war 
scarcely second to those of any of the army or government depart- 
ments. All over the country people who had friends at the front 
were aroused to send to the hospitals and camps such things as 
the revenues of government could not readily obtain. Not unmind- 
ful of their neighbors thus exposed, the citizens of Lancaster held a 
public meeting at town hall, October 21, 1861, to take measures 
for making a practical and generous response to the call of the 
Sanitary Commission. Richard P. Kent was chosen chairman of the 
meeting, and Mrs. H. F. Holton secretary. It was considered best 
to appoint one person in each of the school districts of the town to 
solicit such articles as the people might be able to contribute for 
that purpose. The following persons were appointed to solicit in 
their respective school districts : 

No. I. (Comprising the village north of the river) Mrs. Howe, Mrs. 
George F. Hartwell, and Mrs. Henry O. Kent. 

2. Mrs. William Rowell. 

3. Miss Maria P. Towne (afterward Mrs. Dr. Bugbee). 

4. Mrs. Asa H. Aspinwall. 

5. Mrs. Samuel Twombly. 

6. Mrs. Albert F. Whipple. 

7. Rev. Moody P. Marshall. 

8. Mrs. James Mclntire. 

9. Miss Sarah Smith. 

10. Mrs. Susan Boyce. 

1 1. Mrs. S. H. Legro. 

12. (That part of the village south of the river) Mrs. Thomas S. 

Underwood, and Mrs. Jared I. Williams. 

14. Miss Sarah W. Emerson (now Mrs. S. W. Brown), 

15. Mrs. George H. Watson. 

On motion, Mrs. Jacob Hamlin, Mrs. A. L. Robinson, Mrs. 
I. S. M. Gove, Mrs. H. C. Walker, and Mrs. Nelson Kent were 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 47 

appointed a committee to receive money contributed, and appro- 
priate it in making purchases of such articles as would best meet 
the object in view. Mrs. Royal Joyslin was made custodian of the 
articles collected, and the post-ofifice designated as a depot for the 
deposit of them until ready for shipment to Dr. Howe, the agent of 
the Sanitary Commission at Boston, Mass. 

On November i, 1861, three large boxes of supplies were shipped 
to Dr. Howe. Other contributions were made at later dates, and 
at no time did the interest of the citizens in their neighbors at the 
front slacken in the least. The town made ample provision for the 
wives and children of the men who enlisted. It happened that there 
were a number of families wholly dependent upon the daily wages 
of the men who felt it to be their duty to volunteer in their country's 
defence. These the town made ample provision for the sustenance 
of, while the husband and father was in the service. 

During the fall of 1862 a number of men were enlisted for the 
Seventh regiment by Capt. J. I. Williams. In the hope of stimu- 
lating an interest and making it more an object for men to enlist, a 
public war meeting was held at town hall, July 27, 1862, on a notice 
signed by seventy of the most prominent citizens. It was decided 
that a bounty of $100 should be offered to men who would enlist 
for three years, and $75 for nine months' enlistments. This meas- 
ure had some effect in increasing the number of enlistments for a 
few months, for it was certain that if the full number was not secured 
by volunteers a draft would be made, and most men would rather 
volunteer than run the risk of being drafted ; a pride that is worthy 
of some commendation. 

The coming of every mail was watched by the people with a keen 
interest for news from the seat of war. With feelings of dread would 
they scan the columns of the daily papers lest their sight should 
catch the name of a fellow-citizen among the dead or wounded of 
some dreadful battle, or from the scourge of diseases peculiar to 
camp-life. Often was that fear realized, for Lancaster men were in 
many of the hottest contests of the war, and at times the regi- 
ments to which they belonged sustained fearful losses in battle. 

When a decisive victory was won by the Union army there were 
demonstrations of rejoicing on the streets. When the news came 
May 12, 1862, that Norfolk had fallen, and that the Rebel ram, 
Merrimac, had been destroyed by the Monitor, a national salute 
was fired, and general rejoicing was indulged in by all in the hope 
that the war would soon terminate ; but alas ! more defeats were 
needed to break the spirit of the enemy. 

In 1863 the much-expected and talked-of draft came. On Sep- 
tember 26, a draft was made in presence of Henry W. Rowell of Lit- 
tleton, in which fifty-three men were drawn. This draft included 



148 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

some of the best young men the town could boast of ; and most 
of them wilhngly went to the front, some of whom made remarkably 
good soldiers. Others were able to secure substitutes by paying 
large sums. 

In July, 1863, the news of the death of Col. Edward E. Cross, of the 
Fifth regiment, was received and threw the whole town into mourn- 
ing, for the people had come to recognize in him one of the bravest 
of ofificers. He had led his regiment through some of the worst 
battles of the war, and had come out of them all, although wounded, 
as though he possessed a charmed life. His regiment had been in 
the siege of Yorktown and Williamsburg, the battle of Fair Oaks, 
the seven days' battle in the retreat to Harrison's Landing, and at 
Antietam had won its name of " The Fighting Fifth." They were 
in the charge on Marye's Heights under Hancock, opposite Fred- 
ericksburg, at Chancellorsville, and finally at Gettysburg, where 
Colonel Cross received a fatal wound while leading a brigade. His 
body was returned to his native town for burial, and his shattered 
regiment was returned to Concord to be recruited. 

A movement was at once set on foot to erect a suitable monu- 
ment to Colonel Cross, which after some delay was accomplished. 

Renewed calls came for more men to fill the quota of the town. 
Enlistments had ceased, and now the town at a meeting, April 15, 
1864, voted to pay a bounty of $300 to all men enlisting until the 
town's quota was filled; and also $iOO to such persons out of the 
town whose enlistment shall count to the credit of the town. 

This liberal bounty did not have the desired effect. Only a few 
enlisted under its tempting offer. It was thought better to induce 
men to volunteer than to risk a draft, as the draft was a mere matter 
of chance, and was as likely to fall upon men that could least be 
spared from the support of their families or their business, and even 
upon such as were least able to secure substitutes. 

Another town-meeting was called for August 29, 1864, when it 
was voted to offer bounties of $800 for enlistments for one year ; 
$1,000 for two years; $1,200 for three years; and $100, $200, and 
$300 to one, two, and three year men, aliens, but who should be 
credited to the town. 

This offer had the effect to call out twenty-two men at once, and 
later a few others were enlisted. The town thus at considerable 
cost met its quota, and in every way discharged its obligations in 
furnishing the army for the nation's defence. 

It was this year, of 1864, that marked the century point in the 
town's history ; and the event of its settlement and first century of 
growth was duly celebrated, the story of which we tell in Part II, of 
this history, and therefore simply refer to it here in its proper place 
in the narrative. The event was of more than ordinary importance. 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 49 

It turned the people's thought upon themselves and their situation, 
their opportunities and responsibilities in a way to awaken in them 
self-consciousness, by which the community is as truly born to a 
higher life as is the individual ; and we know how when one be- 
comes conscious of himself he enters into a higher life, not content 
with life as it is, but strives to make it like the ideal that floats before 
his vision. With the turning of the people's thought upon them- 
selves, and back along the way over which their forefathers toiled 
to build the institutions they enjoy, a community is born again. 

New visions of life are evolved, and man is challenged by all that 
is best in him to make good the aims for which so many genera- 
tions, as he may be made conscious of, have toiled, and toiled for 
him, too. A community bestirs itself to make its second century 
better than its first by profiting by the accumulated experience of 
those who have gone before them over the same road they must 
travel. The first fruits of this new devotion to the ideal floating 
before the people, wafted hither on the wings of oratory, music, 
and good cheer, was the purchase of the plot of ground, on which 
the celebration was held, as a park, now named Centennial Park. 
With the coming of peace within a year from the date of the cen- 
tennial of the town, renewed interest was manifested in everything 
pertaining to the good of the community. 

It was with feelings of unbounded joy that the people heard, 
on the 14th of April, 1865, that Lee had surrendered, and that the 
war was ended. 

This bit of good news was made the occasion of a celebration. 
One of the old six-pounder iron cannon (known as the " Bennington 
cannon," because captured of the British at the battle of Bennington) 
was brought out of the arsenal, placed on the northwest brow of 
Baker hill and fired until it burst into fragments from an over-charge. 

The joy with which families received their absent ones back, as 
they were mustered out of the service through the summer, was un- 
bounded, though many hearts were heavy almost to breaking over 
the lost ones who fell on Southern battle-fields, or on the long 
marches, or in camp or hospital, of diseases and fatigue little less 
fatal than the chances in battles. There went from the town a long 
and honorable list of men, of whom many were numbered among 
the dead and missing, and whose places have been vacant in the 
homes and hearts of their families and neighbors. Many of those 
who did return were battle-scarred and broken in health, illy able to 
take up again their tasks in civil life where they had laid them down 
four years before to try the uncertain fortunes of war ; but bravely 
they applied themselves to the old tasks, or sought new ones by 
which to win a livelihood for themselves and those dependent upon 
them, grateful for what degree of success has come to them. 



ISO HISTORY OF LANCASTER, 

Lancaster is proud of her veterans ; and she is justly proud of her 
part in the history of the great drama by which the Union was pre- 
served one and inviolate, a Union of free states. 

Until 1866, a daily mail from the south and one from ihe east had 
been the quickest means of communication with the world at large. 
Those facilities, when first secured, put Lancaster very nearly on a 
footing of equality with other towns in New England ; but the times 
had changed. The age of electricity had come ; the subtle force 
was beginning to do a larger share of the world's work, especially 
in the transmission of news. The telegraph, through its 60,000 miles 
of lines, had ramified almost the entire country, and had been ex- 
tended to unite the two hemispheres, bringing the world so close 
to our feet that we could send our thoughts and wishes around the 
globe in a few minutes. 

No more did Lancaster want telegraphic connection with the rest 
of the country than the rest of the country wanted such means of 
communication with Lancaster — with every community where men 
lived and did business. Accordingly the American Telegraph Com- 
pany, later the Western Union, began the erection of its lines to Lan- 
caster from Littleton in May, 1866. This brought Lancaster and 
Boston within a few minutes of each other; and since then no service 
rendered the public by any corporation has been more welcomed than 
that of the telegraph, until the coming of the telephone, which now 
puts us within speaking distance of nearly one half of the continent. 

After the close of the war an era of general improvement was 
ushered in. During the four years of carnage and waste, incident 
upon the diversion of attention and interest upon the questions at 
issue in the War of the Rebellion, but little improvement had been 
made in anything. Almost all enterprises of a new character seemed 
to stand still until weightier questions should be settled. No sooner, 
however, was peace restored, than the people began to inaugurate 
innovations of various kinds. 

In 1868 the first concrete sidewalks were laid in the village. Un- 
til then sidewalks had been of a more primitive kind. Board walks 
had been in very general use for many years ; and here, like in other 
villages where such walks were in use, there was continual complaint 
about their condition. As early as 1855, some one, I know not who 
it was, laid stones for a walk from the centre of the village toward 
the court-house on the west side of Main street. This walk, however, 
was not a success, and in the summer of 1868 the selectmen were 
induced to lay the first concrete walks in the village. Beginning in 
August of that year, Samuel H. Legro laid concrete walks from the 
Isreals river bridge, on Main street, as far as the store of J. A. 
Smith. He laid crossings on Main and Middle streets, and con- 
tinued a walk on Middle street, from Main street to L. F. Moore's 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 151 

house. This experiment was so successful that in October of the 
same year he began at Smith's store and extended the concrete walks 
as far as to R. P. Kent's store. This was by way of experiment, but 
when the next season proved that there was nothing better for the 
construction of walks, it was decided by the selectmen to extend 
them from the points where they left off as far as the court-house 
and the Catholic church on Main street. Those walks remain to-day 
in a good state of repair, except between Bunker Hill and High 
streets on the east side, at which point the grade has been raised 
and some repairs made. Otherwise no repairs have been made upon 
them since they were laid down in 1868 and 1869. It has long since 
been accepted as the proper kind of walk for comfort and economy, 
and from time to time the amount of concrete walks has been in- 
creased until nearly every street of any importance has one or both 
walks laid of that material. It has become the settled policy of the 
town to lay a certain amount of that kind of walk every year, with 
the intention of finally covering the entire village walks with it. 
Some walks have been made of crushed stone since the town has 
owned and operated its own stone crusher; but these walks have 
proven to be but makeshifts. A few pieces of brick v/alk, laid by 
individuals in front of their premises, still exist ; and there remains 
but a single section of wooden walk in the village — a short piece on 
North Main street. 

The spirit of improvement that secured the concrete sidewalks in 
1868 and 1869, called for the lighting of the streets during the latter 
year. By private enterprise a number of kerosene lamps were placed 
on the streets, which was a decided improvement in helping people 
to pick their way along on dark nights. These private lights were 
in use for more than a decade before the town took the matter in 
hand to properly light the streets at the public expense. There 
often seemed other need of lighting the streets than the mere com- 
fort it afforded. In 1872 the rumor gained credence in the village 
that an organized gang of thieves from New York city were planning 
to visit the village and operate here. This called the citizens out, in 
a meeting held at the counting-room of R. P. Kent, to take steps to 
have the streets properly lighted and patrolled for a term of six 
months from November of that year. This was taken, however, as 
more of a scare, and nothing was done in either direction more than 
to make the people a little more vigilant in the matter of looking 
after their own property and rights. The street lights were kept 
trimmed and burning with a little more than ordinary care ; but the 
thieves did not come. 

The village had grown, meanwhile, to the formidable number of 
1,100 souls, with enough more in the rural districts to swell the en- 
tire population of the town to 2,248 in 1870. There were then, by 



152 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



actual count, 240 houses in the village. This showed an increase of 
206 over the 34 cheap houses, only eight of which had ever been 
painted, in 1825. Everything else had increased in about the same 
ratio of importance during that period of forty-five years. The vol- 
ume of commercial business had greatly increased during that event- 
ful period ; and agriculture and manufactures had enjoyed an equal 
degree of prosperity. The manufactures of the town had become 
very considerable, though we have no means of getting at their value 
for lack of statistics upon which we may rely. In regard to the agri- 
cultural interests and products of the town we are more fortunate in 
having the following reliable return, made in connection with the as- 
sessment for the year 1875. The books of the town show that for 
the year from April i, 1874, to April i, 1875, an agricultural prod- 
uct to the value of $409,265 was secured by the enterprise of the 
town, as shown by the following table of items : 



Agricultural statistics of the town of 
1875: 



Lancaster from April i, 1874, to April i. 



Hay 










10,962 tons. 


$i3i'544 


Straw 








416 tons. 


2,496 


Potatoes 








62,435 bushels. 


24,974 


Other roots . 








1,050 " 


315 


Corn, shelled 








2,121 " 


2,121 


Wheat . 








1,953 " 


2,929 


Oats 








21,415 


12,849 


Rye 








65 " 


65 


Indian wheat 








1,097 " 


548 


Peas and beans 








388 " 


n(^ 


Fruit 








1,650 


660 


Small fruit 










2,500 quarts. 


250 


Butter . 










57,764 pounds. 


17,334 


Cheese . 










4,010 " 


668 


Pork . 










67,780 


6.778 


Eggs . 










5,365 dozen. 


1,073 


Poultry 










4,693 pounds, 


782 


Maple sugar 










27,400 " 


2,740 


Wood cut 










11,108 cords, 


27,770 


Lumber 










2,237 M, 


1 1,185 


Horses, April i, 1875 






572, 


48,286 


Cattle, 






1,580, 


57,288 


Sheep, " 






2,012, 


8,132 


Help hired 






608 months. 


15,200 


Mutton and lambs 








■ 5,301 


Beef . 








. 26,990 


Total 


$409,265 


Dogs, April I, 1875 ...... 


89 


Valuation ........$ 


1,060,684 


Number of po 


lis 










654 



LANCASTER FROM 1850 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 53 

Here was an income of about $340 per capita in the actual prod- 
ucts of the farms in that year. The wages of the farm laborers 
averaged twenty-three dollars and thirty-five cents. The homes of 
the people were comfortable ; and plenty, cheer, and hope abounded 
on every hand. The aggregated wealth of the town, as shown by 
the assessment, was much above the million dollar mark. At that 
time there were no wealthy men in town. This wealth was much 
more evenly distributed then than it now is, so it can readily be 
imagined that the prosperous and comfortable people of the town 
were many; and if there were any persons who knew what want was 
they were extremely few, and the generosity of the town was exer- 
cised in their behalf. No town could be more mindful in the relief 
of distress and the help of the unfortunate than Lancaster has always 
been. 

In 1878 the village was visited by two calamities by which much 
valuable property was lost. On the evening of April 9, 1878, a fire 
was discovered in some hay and rubbish in a barn, in the rear of 
Rowell & Allen's store on Main street, where Eagle block now 
stands. The flames soon communicated with the store, and then 
from one to another building until fifteen business places and several 
residences were consumed, together with most of their contents. 
But little of the goods and household effects was saved. There was 
a loss of over $50,000 worth of property, with little more than half 
enough insurance to cover it. The buildings were poor wooden 
structures of but little value, which were the smallest items in the 
loss. There were many heavy stocks of goods lost upon which the 
insurance was light. On account of the inflammable character of 
the buildings and their contents, the fire got beyond control of the 
fire companies which were on the scene soon after the alarm was 
given ; but with the inadequate supply of water and the meager 
apparatus at their command they were helpless in the presence of so 
formidable a fire. Fortunately A. J. Marshall, whose place of busi- 
ness was where L. F. Moore's store now stands, on Middle street, had 
a force pump which he trained on the fire and stopped it in that 
direction. About one half of the business portion of the village was 
consumed. The fire swept everything away from Dr. Stickney's 
house where Benton's block now is and the river on Main, and on 
the north side of Middle street. So intensely hot was the fire, 
which raged all night, that buildings on the west side of Main street 
were charred from the sidewalk to the ridges of the roofs. They 
were saved only with the utmost exertion of almost the entire popu- 
lation. The women turned out and helped to save what goods 
could be carried to a safe distance from the flames, and also to carry 
refreshments to the men who were heroically striving to save the vil- 
lage from complete ruin. 



154 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The following were the chief losses sustained by the conflagration : 
Kent & Griswold, dry goods, loss on stock, $4,000, insured in the 
Hartford for $3,500. H. Whitcomb & Co., harness and saddlery, 
loss about $600, insured in the Home for $500. Kent, Cobleigh 
& Co., tin shop, loss $10,000, insured in Hanover & ALtna, for 
$3,500. Chas. E. Rowell, M. D., loss $1,000, insured in North 
America, for $500. E. T. Wilson, photographer, loss $500, insured 
in Shawmut, for $300. W. G. Baker, groceries, loss, $2,500, 
insured in Hartford, for $1,500. Mrs. Eliza R. Spaulding, building, 
loss $3,000, insured in Shoe & Leather and Fanueil Hall, for $2,400. 
Jacob Benton, Nutter block, loss $3,000; no insurance. Express 
company, slight loss. O. H. Kimball, dentist, loss about $300 ; no 
insurance. Coos Republican Association, printing ofifice, loss 
$3,500; no insurance. Oliver Nutter, household furniture, $1,500 ; 
no insurance. Charles W. Garland, spring bed manufacturer, loss 
$200 ; no insurance. Rowell & Allen, dry goods and groceries, on 
stock and building, $7,000, insured in yEtna and Home, for $4,000. 
Coos Lodge, No. 35, and Waumbek Encampment, No. 24, L O. O. 
F., loss about $1,000; no insurance. Frank Smith & Co., flour 
and grain, loss on stock and building, $6,000, insured in North 
America and New Hampshire for $2,300; Jas. S. Smith, building, 
loss $1,000; no insurance. A. Cowing, barber, loss $100 ; no insu- 
rance. D. W. Smith, groceries, loss on stock and building, about 
$8,000, insured in Springfield and Shoe & Leather, for $3,500. 
Wm. Clough, building, loss $350, insured in Springfield for $250. 
Hosea Gray, meat market and provisions, loss $2,000 ; no insurance. 
Geo. K. Stocker, fish and oyster market, loss $250; no insurance. 
Mrs. Stickney, dwelling house, loss about $1,700, insured in the 
Home for $1,000. Slight damages to Emmons S. Smith, Dr. D. 
L. Jones, A. D. Benway, Mrs. N. Sparks, C. E. Allen & Co., J. A. 
Smith & Co., Geo. W. Lane, Fred C. Colby, A. J. Marshall, Lizzie 
C. Thomas, post-ofhce, telegraph ofifice, town clerk's office, Mrs. 
Bowman, Ladd & Fletcher, Benton & Hutchins, Dexter Chase, 
W. & H. Heywood, J. G. Crawford, Thos. S. Underwood, Ray, Drew 
& Jordan, Guernsey & Howe, John P. Hodge and several others. 

Steps were at once taken to rebuild the most important business 
places, and in a short time the burnt structures were replaced by 
better business blocks than any the village had ever known ; and 
in time the fire was looked upon rather as a blessing than a ca- 
lamity, as it made better buildings both possible and necessary. It 
also impressed upon the minds of the people the need of better facil- 
ities for protection against fire. The cause of this fire was some- 
what obscure, though credited to three tramps who had been seen 
in that vicinity only a short time before its discovery, and who were 
not seen afterward. 



II 




Part of Main Street, 1872. 




South Main Sikkki I imhk iw u./c. 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 55 

Again in the fall of that year another, and in some respects more 
disastrous, fire visited the village. This time, on the morning of 
September 28th, a fire was discovered in the third story of the 
ell part of the Lancaster House. The fire companies were promptly 
on the scene of the conflagration ; but owing to the location of the 
fire and the rapidity with which it spread after communicating with 
a tarred roof they could do nothing to stay its ravages. The heat 
was so intense that it drove the firemen to such a distance that they 
could accomplish nothing with their feeble apparatus and the slender 
streams of water at their command. The loss on the building and 
its contents was estimated at $30,000, with $25,000 insurance. 
This hotel had been recognized by the people as one of the most 
important enterprises of the village and now that the proprietors did 
not see fit to rebuild it, they realized that the fire was one of the 
greatest calamities that had visited the village at any time in its his- 
tory. There was not another hotel of any importance in the village ; 
and it seemed a necessity to the accommodation of transients doing 
business here that there should be a first-class hotel. 

The matter of rebuilding the hotel ran along for three years 
before anything of a practical character was done to accomplish 
that desired end. On the evening of February i6th, 1881, a public 
meeting of the citizens was held at Eagle hall to take some steps to 
secure the rebuilding of the hotel. As one result of that meeting a 
company was organized to build a good hotel on the site of the one 
that was burnt in 1878. This company was known as the Lancaster 
Hotel Company. The chief personality connected with it was the 
late John Lindsey, a somewhat noted hotel-keeper. 

At a town meeting held March 27, 1881, it was "Voted that the 
selectmen buy the land of the old Lancaster House site of Ray & 
Benton for $2,000, and hold the title to the same, and rent it to the 
Lancaster Hotel Company for $1 per annum, when they shall have 
completed a hotel to the value of $10,000 on the premises; and if 
said company at any time make a tender of $2,000 the selectmen 
shall quitclaim the property to said company." (See Town Records.) 

It was not until May, 1882, however, that the work on the new 
hotel was begun. On the 8th of May, 1882, John Lindsey began 
work on the present Lancaster House building ; and by November 
28th had it completed. On the evening of that date it was lighted 
for the first time by gas generated on the premises. On the evening 
of November 29th the house entertained the first guests, consisting 
of six traveling men. This house was then, and has remained since, 
a first-class hotel. Mr. Lindsey, in company with his sons, continued 
to conduct the house until his death in 1890. His son, Ned A. Lind- 
sey, deceased, and his son-in-law, Lauren A. Whipp, conducting it to 
this time. 



156 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

During the period between the burning and the rebuilding of the 
Lancaster House much discussion had been indulged in with respect 
to the possibility of making Lancaster a summer resort, with ade- 
quate hotel accommodations. This induced Mr. William H. Smith 
in 1883 to build a hotel on the crest of Mount Prospect, south of 
the village, which commands one of the finest views that can be 
found anywhere within miles. The atmosphere on the mountain is 
charming; and a good spring of pure water offered a supply equal 
to all demands upon it. A road had been built up the mountain in 
1859. A good carriage road was built up the north side of the 
mountain in the fall of 1882 by Mr. Smith who for several seasons 
was landlord. The house became a financial loss to its owner. It 
has since fallen into ruins through the combined agency of decay 
and the vandalism of the men and boys, mostly the latter, who visit 
it. It is to be regretted that so splendid an opportunity for conduct- 
ing a summer house should have been abused and given up. 

In 1882, the people became much interested in the matter of a 
better water supply. Until that year every family had to provide 
its own water from the capricious and uncertain sources of springs 
or wells. In the earliest times the well had its old-fashioned 
" sweep," consisting of a long pole mounted in the crotch of a post, 
and to the longer end of which another pole was made fast to carry 
a bucket down into the water, while the other end of the sweep was 
weighted with stones to serve as the force that would lift the filled 
bucket from the well. Such primitive contrivances were seen on 
nearly all premises until quite late toward the middle of the present 
century, when pumps began to come into use. The first pumps 
were metal ones, and very expensive, so that they were little used. 
The people could not afford them ; but Yankee genius was never 
without resources, and they imitated the metal pump with wood. A 
log was bored through the centre and properly connected with a 
wooden cylinder in which the valves were located, and let down into 
the well. A wooden rod was connected with the lever and valve, 
and as good results were obtained as if a high-priced metal pump 
had been used ; and the wooden one did not cost more than a very 
small fraction of what the metal one would have, and generally out- 
lasted it, too. 

At a still later date, about 1850, the hydraulic ram was the pop- 
ular device for conveying water as it possessed the power of lifting 
it over hills and other obstructions in the course where it was wanted 
to be conveyed. One Perry W. Pollard, a tinsmith in the employ 
of R. P. Kent, astonished the natives in 1854, by fitting a lead pipe 
into a well on the Gotham farm, and by the now well-known princi- 
ple of the syphon, lifting water out of the well and conveying it to a 
lower level. One can well imagine the open-mouthed wonder with 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 57 

which the simpler ones viewed the young mechanic from Providence, 
R. I. No doubt some thought him in possession of supernatural 
powers ; but they learned from him a useful lesson in regard to the 
principles and powers of the syphon. Water from the various 
springs against the hillsides was conveyed into the houses in the 
village below by means of wooden pipes, which consisted of logs 
bored through with an auger properly fitted for the purpose. These 
so-called "pump-logs" have continued in use to the present time, 
though most of them have given place to lead or iron pipes. The 
best, and most durable, pump-logs were made of tamarack from six 
to eight inches in diameter and fifteen feet long. Balsam fir was 
used to some extent, but was not so durable as the tamarack. 
There were many persons engaged in the business of boring and 
laying pump-logs; but Shadrach P. Hartford, brother of Stephen 
Hartford of East Lancaster, was forty years ago regarded as the 
past master in the art of making and laying pump-logs. Some of 
his work still remains to this day in good repair and is doing daily 
service in conveying water. 

For many years the village had no other source of water supply 
than wells and these pump-logs from springs on the hills. The 
south side of the village was supplied from springs opening into the 
bank where Prospect street now is, and from a large one on Holton 
Hill. The noted cold spring on the Whitefield road, south of the 
stone-crusher, furnished a large supply of the best of water, and 
this is still connected with the Lancaster House. When the Lancas- 
ter House was built in 1858, it took all its supply from this spring. 

What was known as the Pleasant Spring Aqueduct Company took 
water from a large spring on the south side of the east road, a little 
east of where the Maine Central round house now stands. This line 
covered and supplied Middle street and Main as far north as the 
J. A. Smith residence near the corner of Bunker Hill street. 

Another famous spring was the Everett spring located in the 
Everett pasture on the north slope of Bunker Hill, which fifty years 
ago was a cleared pasture but is now grown up to a second growth 
of pines. This spring afforded a fine stream of the best water in 
town. Judge Everett brought the water to his house — the old Cross 
place — on the corner of High and Main streets. Later a portion of 
this stream was deeded to Elizabeth Everett, his sister-in-law, by 
Ephraim Cross and carried to the house which since its removal is 
now owned by the Forshees on Summer street, but which then stood 
where the Van Dyke house now stands. Still another portion of 
that stream was sold to Isaac B. Gorham who lived where Charles 
Howe now does on Main street; and at a still later date, 1840, 
Richard P. Kent, who had just built the homestead where Col, E. 
R. Kent now lives, bought another share of this spring. In 1848, 



158 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

George Bellows, then living where Cyrus D. Allen now does on 
Main street, bought for a company the remainder of that stream and 
conveyed it to his house, and a number of others on that street. The 
volume of water began to shrink soon after that time, and as the 
stream was much divided no small trouble resulted to families who 
depended upon it for their water. 

This led to Frederick Fisk, and later, Charles E. Allen, putting 
down a system of modern tubing and later iron pipes, with a view 
to collecting water from a number of springs on several hillsides 
and carrying it through the village under one system and manage- 
ment. This was a great improvement over the old way of every 
family looking after its own pump-logs. This system was inadequate 
to the demand upon it. It was not of sufficient volume to furnish 
water for street sprinkling, nor did it meet the requirements of the 
village in case of fires. There was an urgent demand for a better 
system; and in i89i,a private company undertook to bring water 
from the Garland brook beyond Matthew Smith's, some six miles 
distant from the village. This company built the present hydrant 
system, one of the best systems to be found in all New England. 
The water is as pure as can be found, coming as it does from the 
large forest section of the town of Kilkenny. The water is taken 
out of Great brook, and carried directly to the service pipes, with a 
reservoir on the side of Mount Pleasant in which is a sufficient storage 
for all emergencies — 180 feet above Main street. 

The company made a contract with the fire precinct to turn over 
the system within a given time if the precinct (village) wished to 
purchase it upon the payment of the cost of construction and 10 per 
cent. -additional. In 1894 the village fire precinct purchased the 
plant. A committee consisting of Col. H. O. Kent, J. I. Williams, 
and Henry Heywood was appointed to make an award, and adjust 
the price, which they did, allowing for the plant the sum of $74,000, 
which was raised by the sale of bonds which was authorized by 
special act of the legislature at the session of 1895. The precinct 
then organized a water commission under the management of which 
the system has given entire satisfaction to all using the water. The 
water is pure and delicious — is a profitable and excellent invest- 
ment and has checked every fire — so that no conflagration has since 
ensued. 

Again in 1882, the question of lighting the streets came up for 
discussion ; and finally the matter was carried before the November 
town-meeting, at which time the following vote was passed : " Voted, 
That the town light the village streets with suitable lights, to be pro- 
cured and kept as the judgment and discretion of the selectmen may 
direct, and the said selectmen are authorized to draw money from 
the town treasury therefor " (Town Records). The judgment of the 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 59 

selectmen was that twelve kerosene oil-lamps were sufficient, and 
they provided that number and arranged for the proper care of 
them. This did not satisfy many of the villagers. They thought 
that twelve public, and thirteen private, lights were not sufficient to 
light a village containing a population of 1500. covering an area of 
about two square miles. The discussion that followed the plac- 
ing of these lights on the streets resulted in the organization of a 
company in 1889, for lighting the streets with electric lights. The 
Electric Light company put in a plant, using the incandescent lamps, 
by means of which the streets have been well Hghted. The power 
is furnished by Frank Smith & Company at their mills. Two dyna- 
mos are used for the two circuits — street and indoor circuits. There 
are maintained 108 lights on the streets; and many offices, stores, 
and residences are using the company's lights. The plant has been 
a very satisfactory one, rendering a good service, and at a moderate 
cost to both town and citizens, the estimated cost of lighting the 
streets for 1897 being $1,224 for 108 lights. Few concerns have 
rendered the community better service than the Lancaster Electric 
company. Certain important improvements are contemplated by 
the company which will very much enhance its efficiency to the 
public service. 

At the March town-meeting in 1889, the sons of the late Richard 
P. Kent made the offer to the town of a fountain to be located in 
front of his late residence on Main street as a fitting memorial to 
their parents, who had been identified with the business and social 
interests of the town and community since 1825. The offer of this 
fountain was made on the condition that the town maintain it in the 
future in accordance with the designs of the donors as affording 
drinking water to man and beast as well as serving as an ornament 
to the village streets when the, then contemplated, system of water 
works should be completed. The town accepted the offer, and the 
fountain was finished by the time of the completion of the water 
works, and put in use on the first of December, 1892. This foun- 
tain is a fine piece of workmanship in design and execution, and 
an ornament to the village, keeping fresh the memory of one who 
helped develop the industries of the town, upon which its pres- 
ent prosperity rests, and serving thirsty men and animals with one 
of the noblest services man can render his fellows, the offering of the 
"cup of cold water." 

The structure is of granite. A large and convenient water-box 
with two streams of water, is provided. An ornate arch surmounts 
the water-box supporting a bronze Victory. On the face toward 
the street, is this inscription : 



l6o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



IN MEMORIAM. 



Richard Peabody Kent, 
Emily Mann Kent." 

On the face toward the sidewalk ; 

" To the Town. 
From Henry O. Kent, 
Edward R. Kent, 
Charles N. Kent." 

On the keystone of the arch ; 

" 1892." 

At the same time that this fountain was building another one was 
designed and given the town by Mrs. Louisa Dow Benton, widow 
of the late Jacob Benton, in memory of her husband who died from 
the effects of an accident in the fall of 1892. Mr. Benton had long 
been a resident of the town. He had attained prominence as a law- 
yer, business man and politician. 

This memorial fountain is a neat and tasteful structure standing on 
the corner of Main and Mechanic streets, directly in front of the 
doorway of the present Town Hall building. It is of red granite, 
and contains a water-trough for animals, a separate stream for drink- 
ing purposes for man, and a trough for dogs and lesser animals, 
which latter arrangement is a very thoughtful and humane one. By 
this arrangement a grateful service is rendered the smaller animals 
of the community, which often spares them much inconvenience 
and suffering from thirst. Man is a selfish animal ; he will not live 
without these animals about him, and yet he so often, for the lack of 
thoughtfulness, makes either inadequate or no provisions for their 
comfort. 

This fountain is inscribed with the following memorial : 

" In memory of Jacob Benton as a gift to the town this fountain was erected 
by his wife Louisa D. Benton, on the day of his death September 29, 1892." 

On the face toward the street, and directly above the water 
trough, is this inscription : 

" Thou shalt bring forth them water out of this rock. So shalt thou give the 
congregation and their beasts drink." 

On the globe surmounting the fountain the words ; 
"Pro Bono Publico." 

These fountains render to the village, and to the traveler over our 
streets, a valuable service, one that it is impossible to properly esti- 
mate in words or figures. One has to see the use of them, especially 




Summit Mt. Washington, 




»»»i| 



Ml^.^^Hfc, 




Kent Fountain. 




•^< 




Benton Fountain. 



LANCASTER FROM 1850 TO THE PRESENT TIME. 161 

on the hot days of summer, and the mute expressions of comfort 
shown by the animals daily throughout the year, in order to appre- 
ciate their worth to the community. No more fitting memorial can 
be made of the dead by their friends. One such fountain docs 
more for humanity and civilization than all the granite and marble 
that can be piled up in a cemetery, I care not how artistic that pile 
may be. The one is a living memorial, imparting life, strength, 
health, cheer and comfort every day ; the other is a dead thing, a 
" storied memorial." 

In 1890, the population of the town had reached 3,367, and the 
valuation, as shown by the assessment for that year, $1,636,813.00. 
The valuation is low, and probably does not represent more that 75 
per cent, of the actual value of property in the town. The value of 
the property of the people of this town shows conditions that are 
satisfactory evidence of prosperity, and that all the comforts of life 
can be found among the citizens. The showing of the present time 
is much better than seven years ago. Add to the valuation, which 
is the basis of the taxes of the town, the vast amount of property 
not taxed by the town, and the wealth record of Lancaster would be 
swelled to a very much larger sum, a sum that would rank it as one 
of the wealthiest of country towns in the state. 

An event of considerable interest, and well worthy a place in these 
chronicles, was. the coaching parade of 1895, which was repeated in 
1896, with great success. 

For many years coaching parades have been held at Bethlehem 
and Conway, and other places of resort for summer tourists in this 
mountain section. These events have always been highly appreci- 
ated, both by the visitors and the citizens of the places in which they 
have been held. 

In 1895, it was thought by some parties that Lancaster, inasmuch 
as it was quite a resort for tourists, should have a parade, or as they 
are more popularly styled, a gala day. After considerable corres- 
pondence with the managers of other coaching parades, railroads, 
and proprietors of the mountain hotels and boarding-houses, com- 
mittees were appointed at a public meeting called at the Lancaster 
House for that purpose, and all necessary arrangements were made 
for a gala day on August 15, 1895. The name under which it was 
advertised and managed was " The North-Side Coaching Parade." 
Encouragement was received that the proprietors and guests of the 
leading hotels and boarding-houses about the mountains would take 
part in the parade. The railroads, especially the Maine Central^ 
cooperated to its success. This road generously loaned the commit- 
tee enough bunting to decorate all the public buildings of the vil- 
lage. The citizens took a deep interest in the movement, and by 
contributions of money and the elaborate decoration of their houses 



1 62 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

guaranteed its success. The enterprise was well advertised ; and 
when the day came it was one of those glorious days of summer 
that puts every living thing at its best. Heavy rains a few days be- 
fore had laid the dust and refreshed all nature. The day broke with 
a clear sky, and by eight o'clock the streets began to fill up with 
people. Streams of teams kept coming over the hills, and large 
excursion trains arrived from all the railroads, so that by ten o'clock 
there was such a throng of people as is rarely seen in a country 
village. Gov. Charles A. Busiel, and many distinguished citizens 
from abroad, were present to witness the event. Scores of finely- 
decorated coaches and carriages were in line, as well as a variety of 
exhibitions of the various industries and enterprises of the town. 
Two bands, the Berlin Cornet band and the Saranac band, of Lit- 
tleton, discoursed music on the occasion. Taken all in all, it was an 
indescribable profusion of beauty and pleasure, a scene never to be 
forgotten, but one that surpasses the powers of anyone to describe 
in the limits of the space that we can devote to it. 

Grand as was this first gala day, as great as its success was, it was 
repeated the next year under the same management and committees. 
There were in it such variations from that of the previous year that 
made it even more attractive in many respects. 

SEWERS. 

Taken together with the completed system of water-works, the 
sewer system constitutes one of the most important public improve- 
ments in the history of the town. After the water-works were com- 
pleted there became a demand for adequate sewer facilities to render 
the use of the hydrant system more effective, as there was no means 
of disposing of a surplus of water consequent upon many uses of 
such a system. This, together with the question of disposing of sur- 
face water, and especially the sanitary requirements of the village, 
made a sewer system necessary. 

There had been some public sewers and many private ones put in 
from time to time, but these were small and generally disconnected. 
Many of them discharged into the river within the limits of the 
village, which from an aesthetic and sanitary point of view made 
them extremely objectionable. It was desired to either do away with 
these or combine them and find a place of discharge farther down the 
river. 

The first sewer ever put down in the village was in 1848, by Rob- 
ert Sawyer, surveyor of highways. It was a plank box, running from 
Dr. Stickney's of^ce, where W. I. Hatch's jewelry store now is, to 
the river near the north end of the bridge. This undertaking pro- 
voked a great deal of comment and criticism at the time ; but it 
proved to be a very serviceable sewer for many years. In fact, it 




Coaching Parade, 1895. 




Ak( H ox Main Stkkkt, 1895. 



LANCASTER FROM 185O TO THE PRESENT TIME. 1 63 

would be as good to-day as any if the proper precautions had been 
taken to keep it from fiUing with silt from the streets. It was never 
flushed, except as the surface water flushed it after a heavy rain- 
fall. When the sewer was cut through in the summer of 1896, at 
the corner of Main and Middle streets, the plank were found to be 
perfectly sound, and will last yet for many years. 

Other sewers were put in from time to time as there was a press- 
ing demand for them. In the March meeting of 1894, a move was 
made to have a complete and perfect system of sewers put in. A 
committee was appointed to investigate the needs of the village and 
have a survey made, and report to the next meeting as a basis of 
action in the matter. This committee took the matter in hand, and 
securing the services of F. H. Fuller, C. E., had a survey made of 
the village streets, and reported the results to the annual meeting of 
1895. The matter was discussed, and brought up at an adjourned 
meeting. It went over again until at the March meeting of 1896, 
when a committee was appointed to act in connection with the se- 
lectmen in putting in a system that should meet the demands of the 
village, and also Grange village in the eastern part of the town. The 
sum of $30,000 was raised by bonding the town to pay off its float- 
ing indebtedness, the remainder to be used upon the construction 
of the sewer system as far as it would complete it that year. The 
work to be done upon the sewers was to be so done as to be the 
beginning of a system that could, in the future, be completed and 
perfected to meet the needs of the village. 

The committee appointed to serve in connection with the select- 
men were: I. W. Drew, J. I. Williams, H. O. Kent, Burleigh Rob- 
erts, and George F. Black. The selectmen were : William H. Hart- 
ley, Joseph D. Howe, and Gilbert A. Marshall. This joint commit- 
tee met and organized March 21, 1896. Henry O. Kent was made 
chairman, W. H. Hartley, clerk. 

G. H. Allen, C. E., of Manchester was engaged to examine ex- 
isting sewers and investigate the several plans proposed. Previous 
surveys made by Williams & Osborne were approved by Mr. Allen, 
and the work of construction proceeded. 

It was found that after providing for the payment of town debts 
then outstanding there was left, available for sewer construction, 
$10,000. The work commenced June 23, 1896, under the direction 
of W. H. Hartley, J. D. Howe, and G. A. Marshall (selectmen), as 
an executive committee of the joint committee. G. H. Allen was 
made consulting engineer, with Williams & Osborne doing the de- 
tails of the engineering work on the ground. 

The committee decided to employ only labor from the town, by 
which means encouragement was offered to the working men of the 
town, instead of bringing in foreign labor of a cheaper and question- 



1 64 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

able order. This was a wise measure from several points of view, 
and was highly commended by the citizens of the town. 

The outlets were sought, and located on Isreals river. Three dis- 
tinct systems were decided upon. The first one includes all the ter- 
ritory south of Isreals river, and discharges into the river on Water 
street, a little above the bridge of the B. & M. railroad. 

The second division comprises Bunker Hill street east of Summer 
street, Summer street south of Bunker Hill street. Middle street, Hill 
street, Fletcher street, Richardson's court, Main street south of 
Bunker Hill, and Canal street, with the outlet on the Hopkinson 
meadow. 

The third division comprises Main street north of Bunker Hill 
street. North Main street, Kilkenny street, Bridge street, Wolcott 
street, Wallace street, Summer street north of Bunker Hill street. 
Bunker Hill west of Summer street. Cemetery street. Railroad street, 
and High street, and discharges near the railroad bridge. 

This gives the village 25,570 feet of sewers, 13,424 feet of which 
is of the old system, and 12,570 feet of the new. The committee 
recommend the future construction of 16,628 feet, necessary to cover 
the entire village. There was also put in 500 feet in Grange village. 
The entire expense of the above work was $10,597.73. 

With the completion of this system the village now has thorough 
sanitary drainage of both streets and buildings. This taken in con- 
nection with the water system gives every promise of a service 
that cannot but greatly enhance the healthfulness and comfort of 
life in the village. The only urgent needs to the perfection of the 
service of this sewer system are better grading of streets to facilitate 
the rapid running off of surface waters, and proper grading and mac- 
adamizing to facilitate cleanliness. All of these things will come, no 
doubt, in due time ; and when accomplished will add greatly to the 
already attractive appearance of the village. 



CHAPTER XII. 
EDUCATION. 



The First Schools — The Foundations of the Public Schools — Lancas- 
ter Academy — Graded School — High School — General Interest in 
Education— Present Condition of Education in the Town. 

The earliest attempts at education in the town were private enter- 
prises of which no records were kept, and hence after a lapse of 
more than a century we have very little exact knowledge of those 
first efforts to plant the school in Lancaster. The records of the 
first fifty years or more have been lost, so that all the exact informa- 



THE FIRST SCHOOLS. 1 65 

tion we can get is found in the records of the town showing action 
at its meetings, as preserved in town records. Besides this there 
are a few private documents that throw some hght on the sub- 
ject. There are interesting traditions connected with the first 
schools that are of interest, and we give them for what they are 
worth. 

Tradition says that Ruth Stockwell, the first white woman in town, 
gathered the children of the first settlers into her house, and gave 
them some instruction in the simpler branches, as reading, spelling, 
and possibly arithmetic, and writing. How systematic, and how 
regular, or how long that sort of teaching was continued we are not 
informed. Tradition has been chiefly interested in connecting her 
name with the first real effort at teaching the children of her neigh- 
borhood. Her work may have been mere seed planting that ma- 
tured into a school, and called for what tradition also says was the 
first schoolhouse in town, a rude log cabin built somewhere on the 
river terrace eastward of the house of Ruth Stockwell, and near the 
house of her father, David Page. At all events, when the town was 
divided into districts, the one in that vicinity was numbered one, as 
indicating that it was older than number two in the Bucknam neigh- 
borhood. Just who was the first school-master in that old school in 
the Stockwell and Page neighborhood we are not quite sure. 

A Mr. Bradley taught there in 1789, and may have been the first 
teacher for anything that we know to the contrary. It appears that 
Mr. Bradley taught that school for several years; but aside from 
the fact of his teaching there we know very little of him. We do 
know, however, as a matter of history that one Joseph Bergin from 
Boston, Mass., was the first teacher in the Bucknam neighborhood, 
now known as District No. 2, although the old numbers have no 
real significance except to those who were familiar with the dis- 
trict system, which was abolished in 1885, when the present town 
system came into use. Of him Edwards Bucknam wrote in his 
diary: "June 12, 1787, Joseph Bergin came up from Boston. June 
13, Joseph Bergin went to wash his clothes at Lacous's. June 14, 
Bergin came to my house. June 20, Bergin went to keeping school 
for 6 months at $5 a month." 

These first schools had short and irregular terms, as the people 
had little money to spend upon them, and the teachers were seldom 
men who cared to work for produce as they had no families to make 
use of such stuff. They could not market produce or convert it into 
money. When the schools were open, only the younger children 
could be spared to attend them. Adino Nye Brackett, who came 
to Lancaster at twelve years of age, said he never attended school 
after that time more than six months all told. Maj. John W. 
Weeks, who came here in 1786, left on record the statement that he 



1 66 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

never attended school more than ten or twelve months in Lancaster. 
The same was likely true of many other families, though we have 
no knowledge of the fact. 

The first settlers here were men and women of fairly good educa- 
tion, who were deeply interested in educating their children ; but 
the conditions of life were so exacting that as soon as a boy was old 
enough to work he had to go with his father into the woods or 
fields, and do the work of man. He might be spared a few months 
in midwinter when the demand for his labor was the least. Some 
of the more ambitious boys studied by the light of birch bark 
around the hearth after the day's work was done, and in this way 
added to what they got in the schools. We have no evidence that 
the town gave any financial aid. to the schools until 1 790, when at a 
town-meeting, December 13, thirty bushels of wheat were appro- 
priated for the schools that year. Wheat was then a sort of circu- 
lating medium that took the place of money, as we have elsewhere 
stated. Nearly all appropriations were then voted in wheat. At 
that time the town must have had two schools, which would have 
given each one the magnificent sum of fifteen bushels of wheat for 
a year's support of schools. This sum was, however, " in addition 
to what the law directs." How much the law directed to be raised 
for schools I am not sure of; but under the Provincial Laws towns 
were required to raise certain amounts, and to provide schools for 
certain lengths of time. The people in this case evidently wanted 
longer terms of school than they were required by law to provide. 
They had themselves enjoyed the advantages of pretty good schools 
in the older towns from which they came, and wanted their children 
to have as good schools as they could afford. 

As the growth of population increased and expanded the inhab- 
ited area of the town, the demand for better schools grew stronger, 
and at the same time more schoolhouses were needed. So at the 
annual town-meeting of 1794 a committee of nine persons was 
chosen to divide the town into school districts. That they provided 
for three schools is very probable. As we have seen, the first two 
schools were started at the extreme ends of the town. The village 
had by this time come to have about six houses, which made it 
almost the equal of either of the two older neighborhoods. The 
committee, when they came to divide the town, probably foresaw 
the importance of the situation of the village section as the future 
centre of business and residence, and made it school district number 
one. As a new schoolhouse was required by the Stockwell section 
it was given third place in the list of districts, while the Bucknam 
neighborhood retained its former number as second on the list of 
schools. 

By a wise provision of the original grantees of the town the terri- 



THE FOUNDATION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 1 6/ 

tory immediately along Isreals river from the grist mill dam to the 
upper dam, as we know them to-day, was reserved for mills, the 
rent accruing from the lands to go for the support of schools. The 
difificulties in the way of mills were so many and so great that the 
rentals of the privileges, when leases were made, were only nominal 
sums named as rents or considerations. The mill site now 
occupied by Frank Smith & Company's mills was leased to Em- 
mons Stockwell by a committee acting for the town, for one pint of 
wheat a year, the same to be paid when called for by the selectmen. 
One equal share of the original lands of the township was set apart 
for a school, and a lot adjoining the church lot, in the original vil- 
lage lot, was designated for a school. Such school was never 
established because the two other schools of which I have 
spoken made it unnecessary. The distribution of population did 
not favor a school at that point; and no schoolhouse was built 
until 1833, when the old first district was divided in consequence 
of the growth of population on the south side of Isreals river in the 
village. This new district was known as No. 12 until it was con- 
solidated with No. I to form a union district in 1869 (the school- 
house was on the common, opposite the east end of the old meet- 
ing-house). 

Thus were laid the foundations of the public schools of the town, 
and it only required time to develop them, and make them a bless- 
ing to the thousands of men and women who have taken advantage 
of their services. 

The story of these schools we have told in detail in another place, 
and therefore refer to them here only as showing their relation to 
other events and movements as they took place. 

An event of great importance in the intellectual development of 
the town, and, in fact, to a considerable extent that of neighboring 
towns, was the establishment of Lancaster Academy in 1828, under 
a special charter from the legislature. Some thirty years of the 
administration of the public school system had made it evident that 
there was felt and recognized the necessity of an institution that 
should fit the sons of Coos farmers and traders for college, and to 
enter business life with a better training than the country, common 
school could give them. Accordingly some of the leading men of 
the town made a move for the establishment of an academy. Among 
that number we find named as the first trustees of the academy, 
William Lovejoy, John W. Weeks, Jared W. Williams, Richard 
Eastman, William Farrar, Thomas Carlisle, Samuel A. Pearson, Reu- 
ben Stephenson, and Adino N. Brackett. The academy was organ- 
ized, and opened its first term in the old flat-roofed court-house on 
the corner of Main and Bridge streets, in 1829, with Nathaniel Wil- 
son, a recent graduate of Dartmouth college, as preceptor. 



1 68 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

At that time the country was being flooded with academies, that 
continued for about fifty years to serve a splendid purpose in the 
educational development of our country ; and some of those old 
institutions, those that happened to secure sufficient endowments to 
guarantee their existence in the struggle with the free public schools 
of equal grade for patronage, are still doing much good. A few of 
them have had sectarian support from churches; but the Lancaster 
academy was free from all sectarian entanglements, and so remained 
through its whole active period of life. The work it did was of a 
high grade, and many hundreds of youth secured in it a good, prac- 
tical education. It had often as preceptors able men, college grad- 
uates, and teachers of experience. 

When a new court-house had been built on another site, the lands 
on which the old one stood reverted to the heirs of Maj. Jonas 
Wilder who gave the land for court-house and jail on conditions of 
their use only for those specified purposes. The old building was 
bought by the academy, and in 1836 was moved to the lot now 
occupied by the present academy building and the Unitarian church, 
which church site had previously been that of the gun house. Here 
on the new spot an a:ddition was put on the front of the building, 
and it continued to be used by the institution until 1861, when it 
was sold for a Baptist church and a new building was erected. 

This academy continued to meet the wants of the community in 
the matter of higher education until within the past ten years when the 
people began to feel the influence of a better organized public school 
system in the state that included the furnishing of higher instruction 
free to the citizens. Not wishing to neglect this universal improve- 
ment of the free, public school, Lancaster people began to demand 
graded schools as early as 1865; but it was not until some years 
later that they could be organized. In 1869, the twelfth district was 
added to the first and a Union district created, and a suitable build- 
ing erected. From that date to the present the village district has 
kept pretty well up with the advance in educational development in 
the state. 

After the village district had enjoyed the benefits of a graded 
school for some fifteen years, the demand for a free high school 
existed. After much discussion of the subject, an arrangement was 
entered into between the district and the trustees of the Lancaster 
academy, by which the pupils fitted to pursue the higher studies 
were taught in the academy at the expense of the district. This 
arrangement, with some slight modifications, continued in exist- 
ence until 1897, when by act of the legislature. Academy and Union 
District were combined, under the title " Lancaster Academy and 
High School." The town is now quite as well equipped in the mat- 
ter of schools as the averasfe New Eneland town of its size and 



GENERAL INTEREST IN EDUCATION. 1 69 

wealth. Under the present township system the eleven schools in 
the town district are well managed, have good houses, and are amply- 
provided with text-books and other appliances free to every child. 
These schools are open three terms of ten weeks each, making a 
school year of thirty weeks' school. We have treated of these 
separately in Chapter 9, Part II, and the reader is referred to that 
account, where each school has been given the attention that its im- 
portance merits. 

In the matter of the support of schools, a spirit of liberality has 
always prevailed in the town, though much indifference has existed 
at times in regard to the character of the school buildings, more 
especially in the Union district. The buildings and equipment of 
these schools have for many years been unequal to the demands 
made upon them by large numbers of pupils and able teachers. 
Public opinion favors good schools, and the attendance has for some 
years been very good. The number of illiterates in town is very 
few, and those of school age who are not able to read and write are 
fewer still. The large foreign-born element of our population enter 
into the hearty support and use of the schools. There are no chil- 
dren in the town but have a school in reasonable distance upon 
which they may attend the length of time required by law each 
year. 

In 1846 there was a great awakening of public opinion and inter- 
est in the matter of improving the public, or common, schools of the 
entire country. This movement was set on foot by Horace Mann, 
who was secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education 
from 1837 to 1848. He aroused the whole nation to a renewed 
sense of the importance of the free common schools. Lancaster 
caught the spirit of this movement, and, like hundreds of other com- 
munities throughout the country, called a mass convention to con- 
vene at the court-house on Nov. 1 1, 1846, for the purpose of organ- 
izing the people in order to more effectively improve the public 
schools. I find in the Cods Democrat, of Nov. 17, 1846, the fol- 
lowing report of that convention, and give it here just as it appeared 
in the paper : 

COMMON SCHOOL MASS CONVENTION. 

Said Convention met agreeably to previous notice at tlie Academy Hall, in 

Lancaster on Wednesday the iith day of November, at one o'clock P. M., and 

was organised by the choice of the following officers. 

BARKER BURBANK, Esq., President. 

Rev. David Perry, > Vice 

Reuben Stephenson, \ Presidents. 

Rev. H. H. Hartwell, } „ , . 
„ A /- f Secretaries. 

George A. Cossitt, ^ 



170 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Voted, That a Committee be appointed by the chair to draft resolutions for this 
convention. 

S. A. Lord, Benjamin F. Whidden and Wm. A. White were appointed said 
committee. 

Mr. S. A. Lord in behalf of said committee presented a report and resolutions, 
and on motion, it was voted that they be taken up separately. 

Voted, That a committee of three be appointed by the chair to nominate a cen- 
tral committee. 

Lord, Hartwell and Cossitt were appointed said committee. 

Voted, That this Convention adjourn to meet at the Court House, at 6 
o'clock, P. M. 

EVENING. 

Met agreeable to adjournment. 

The committee appointed to nominate a Central Committee reported as fol- 
lows : — William Burns, William A. White, George A. Cossitt, which report was 
accepted. 

Voted, That Mr. Wm A. White be invited to give an address to this Convention. 

After listening to the spirited address of Mr. White, the following resolutions 
were separately discussed by the following gentlemen, in a manner able, spirited, 
and worthy the importance of the subject before the convention : — Rev. H. H. 
Hartwell, Cossitt, Benton, Lord, Rev. D. Perry, Whidden, Rix, & Fletcher, and 
were adopted, viz : — 

1 . Resolved, That it is the imperious duty of every true citizen and philanthro- 
pist, to deeply interest himself in and for the cause and advancement of Common 
Schools, 

2. Resolved, That the cause of Common Schools most emphatically calls upon 
all parents and guardians, to engage with great earnestness and constancy in seek- 
ing to promote the advantages, and increase the benefits, which should result to 
their children from their schools. 

3. Resolved, That any and all means, designed for the good of our young peo- 
ple in this way, such as conventions for discussions. Committees for examination, 
State enactments, &c., &r^c., ought to be encouraged. 

4. Resolved, That it is with great pleasure we witness the course taken at the 
late session of the Legislature, to encourage and strengthen our system of Common 
Schools, and that it is the duty of every town to yield a hearty response to the 
enactments then and there made on this subject. 

5. Resolved, That it is the duty of every town to take measures according to 
law, by which it may be enabled to receive its proportion of the Literary Fund. 

6. Resolved, That it is the duty of all the separate districts of this county, to 
take immediate and vigorous measures by which the schools in these districts may 
be improved. 

7. Resolved, That more care should be exercised in obtaining suitable and 

COMPETENT TEACHERS. 

8. Resolved, That it is the imperative duty of all parents and others, to co-operate 
with their Teachers in sustaining an efficient and thorough system of instruction 
and discipli7ie, in our various schools. 

9. Resolved, That it is the duty of every town to appoint, encourage and sus- 
tain a Superintending Committee in the faithful discharge of all their duties as 
designated by law. 

10. Resolved, That the present low condition of the Common Schools in this 
county, demands of every citizen immediate action ; therefore we will unite in the 
commendable work of renovating them, and not cease our efforts till they give to 
our children a thorough, practical education. 

1 1 . Resolved, That we will never abandon this reformation ; we pledge to it 



PRESENT CONDITION OF EDUCATION. I/I 

our minds and hearts in an unwavering purpose to promote the interests of educa- 
tion, the happiness of the rising generation and the prosperity and welfare of 
society. In view of a work so important, so worthy the co-operation of all good 
citizens, we now invite such, without distinction of party or sect to enter our 
ranks and aid us by their counsel and wisdom. 

12. Resolved, That all Teachers are unworthy our confidence and esteem who 
do not in a good degree govern themselves — who do not carry out the spirit of 
the law, which requires of them diligently to impress upon the minds of the 
young, the principles of piety and justice; a sacred regard to truth, love of coun- 
try, humanity and benevolence ; sobriety, industry and frugality ; chastity, mod- 
eration and temperance ; and all other virtues which are the ornament and support 
of human society ; and to endeavor to lead them into a particular understanding of 
the tendency of all such virtues to preserve and perfect a republican form of gov- 
ernment, to secure the blessings of liberty and to promote their future happiness, 
and the tendency of the opposite vices to degradation, ruin and slavery ! 

Voted, That the proceedings of this convention be published in the Coos 
County Democrat. 

Voted, That this meeting adjourn to the 2nd day of DecV next at the Court 
House in Lancaster at one o'clock, P. M. at which time Prof. Haddock, of Dart- 
mouth College is expected to deliver an address before said convention. 

BARKER BURBANK, President. 
H. H. Hartwell, 



Geo. a. Cossitt, 



Secretaries. 



This convention continued to meet and hear able addresses upon 
the subject of common schools for some years. Sometimes the 
speakers were educators from away, but quite as often some man in 
town would address the convention on some feature of the common 
schools. Much good resulted from those discussions, particularly 
in the matter of inducing better management of the schools, and the 
selection of better teachers. 

There were then few normal schools in the country ; and New 
Hampshire did not establish her state normal school until 1870. 
There was, however, a "Teacher's Seminary" conducted at Ply- 
mouth, N. H., from 1837 to 1839, by Rev. Samuel Read Hall. 
Aside from the training of the colleges and academies, teachers were 
not regarded as a peculiar product of the schools of a higher grade. 
It was supposed that anybody able " to read, write, and cipher," 
and keep order was capable of teaching, or rather as they 
expressed it in those days, " keeping school." The people had 
found out that teaching, and " keeping" school were not synony- 
mous terms, and set about correcting the mistakes they had fallen 
into. The personal influence of the teacher was not overlooked, as 
we see in the twelfth resolution of the convention's report above. 

These popular movements were productive of much good at a 
time when the states were not exercising the same effective admin- 
istration of the public school system that they are now. 



1/2 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 

No New England town in the eighteenth century was so fully a 
civil body politic as now. Most of the early towns were founded by 
the church, and grew up about it as a sort of physical nexus that 
connected the church as a spiritual republic with the world. 
Very naturally in such communities the church was older than the 
civil organization and functions of the community. The church by 
its prior existence largely dominated the civil functions of the 
towns. 

Although this condition of affairs was largely changed, and break- 
ing down at the time Lancaster was founded, and the civil organiza- 
tion and functions of the state were coming more into prominence 
and freeing themselves from ecclesiastical control, yet religion as a 
social force exerted a great influence in every community. Church 
and state were still connected by ties that, while they were growing 
weaker all the time, still held them together.' In different commu- 
nities first one and then the other was most prominent in control- 
ling affairs. 

The first towns founded in New Hampshire, Dover, Exeter, Hamp- 
ton, and Portsmouth, were religious republics. Exeter, the asylum 
of the persecuted Antinomians, under the leadership of the pious 
Wheelwright and his sister, Anne Hutchinson, laid the foundation of 
that form of government that has prevailed, with but slight changes 
in New Hampshire, for more than two hundred years. In these first 
towns the church was considered the most important institution ; but 
the civil functions of the town were never dominated by ecclesiastical 
interference as in most of the older Massachusetts towns. By a 
sort of good fortune, Lancaster was largely controlled in its settle- 
ment and for some years afterward by men who had been either 
bred in those lower towns, or had been much about them. The 
portion of its settlers who came from Massachusetts had come under 
an influence that, at that time, was considerable in the northern and 
western part of that state. They were religious men, or at least 
men who regarded religion as of first importance to a community. 
They were the offspring of Puritans who, being bred under more 
favorable conditions than their fathers, had learned to be tolerant. 
Their religious character had been softened through the absence of 
intolerance. All the hard views and practices that prevailed two 
generations before, they had outgrown. New political and religious 
questions had come to the front in their day, and they had, or at least 
the leaders among them had, come to be liberals in both politics and 
religion. They were loyal as long as the king and his government 
did not trample upon their rights to live for the comfort and happi- 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 1 73 

ness that they regarded as the reward of honest toil ; they were 
loyal to the church so long as it did not ask them to violate their 
conscience to support its dead doctrines and practice perfunctory 
morals out of keeping with the wants of their lives. It may be 
doubted if Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam and David Page 
knew much of what constituted orthodoxy of belief, or if knowing 
they cared anything for it. They were yet men who had a pro- 
found respect for religion and morality, and none did more, or more 
willingly, than they did to build a church and support it These were 
thoughtful men, who did not take their opinions from other minds, 
ready-made precepts that must be obeyed in an unquestioning ser- 
vility of disposition. They were not scholars, but men of practical 
common sense, who knew what constituted right between man and 
man, and trusted what we of to-day have come to call " the larger 
hope," — that honest men stand the best chances in the courts of 
heaven. 

While we can see the moulding influence of Massachusetts in the 
political and civil development of the town, we see no vestige of her 
religious exclusiveness manifested by the pioneers of Lancaster. 
Congregationalism had secured the support of the province, and 
in every town of any importance in the province the church of 
the Orthodox Congregational body had the town's support by taxa- 
tion. The civil authorities laid a tax for its support, and the peo- 
ple in their civil corporate capacity as a town had the right con- 
jointly with the church to call a minister. The church and town 
stood so nearly on a level of authority that the church had but one 
point of advantage over the town — the right to call on the town for 
the support of its minister. Neither one, however, could act in the 
matter without the concurrence of the other. The laws sustained this 
relation between the religious and civil bodies with as much appar- 
ent sincerity as they provided for the regulation of other matters 
considered wholly secular. In fact, the terms seculai' and sacred 
did not stand in antithesis to their thought, as they have come of 
late years to ours. With them things were either sacred or profane. 
Secularism is a term that came into use after the separation of 
church and state took place. 

In the matter of these old laws the interior and northern towns 
had no part. The older towns on the sea-board had secured their 
enactment; but at the time of which we are speaking even they had 
come to regard their religious statutes as a sort of Trojan Horse 
they had mistakenly drawn into their camp to repent of in sackcloth 
and ashes at a later date, for New Hampshire was slow and long in 
removing certain barriers it had erected against religious toleration. 
The last of these were removed in 1819. 

The law to which we refer is this, passed in the provincial assem- 



174 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

bly in 1 714. It was enacted for the purpose of securing the support 
of the ministry and the pubHc schools. Section i, relating to the 
support of the ministers, was as follows : 

"It shall be lawful for the Freeholders of every respective Town within this 
Province convened in public Town Meeting, as often as they shall have occasion, 
to make choice of, and by themselves or any other person by them appointed, to 
agree with a minister or ministers for the supply of said Town and what annual 
salary shall be allowed him or them : and the said minister or ministers so made 
choice of shall be accounted the settled minister or ministers of such town ; and 
the selectmen for the time being shall make rates and assessments upon the in- 
habitants of the Town for payment of the minister's salary, in such manner and 
form as they do for defraying the other town charges. . . . Provided always 
that this act do not interfered with her Magesty's Grace (Queen Anne) and favor 
in allowing her Subjects Liberty of conscience ; nor shall any person under pre- 
text of being of a different persuasion, be excused from paying towards the sup- 
port of the settled minister or ministers of such town ; but only such shall be 
excused as conscientiously and constantly attend the Public Worship of God on 
the Lord's Day according to their own Persuasion." 

This law was liberal for the times. It contains no intention of 
being used for the support of a bigoted institution, or for persecu- 
tion. It aimed at the encouragement of religious life under some 
form. There was freedom for those who held views different from 
those of the orthodox church, but it must be used in the building 
up of an actual church. 

This law had become, at the close of the eighteenth century, a 
mere check against irreligiousness and immorality. It had ceased 
to be applied aggressively, though it remained in force until after 
the province had become one of the states of the Federal Union. 
It was repealed in 1791. 

When Lancaster was settled, the older towns had discovered that 
they had made a mistake in securing such rigorous laws in relation 
to matters of religion and the church. These hardy, practical men 
were not going to act unwisely in the matter. They had reserved 
an equal share of town lands for the first settled minister, and set apart 
a lot for a meeting-house The way was open for the settlement of 
a minister ; from the first had they chosen to take advantage of the 
provisions of the laws regulating the matter; but as the people 
were the town, the tax for the support of the church would have 
fallen on the people had they as a town voted to settle a minister 
earlier than they felt able to contribute to that purpose. It was just 
as lawful to vote a sum of money to settle a minister as one for build- 
ing roads. A majority voting for such appropriations to the church 
secured its collection and use for that specified purpose. No pro- 
test that did not change the minds of the majority was of any avail in 
such matters. It mattered not whether a respectable minority were 
of another religious belief than that of the Orthodox Congregational 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. I 75 

church, they had to pay the tax so long as it was decreed by a ma- 
jority vote. 

While the laws practically established and protected this one par- 
ticular church, they made no provisions for the punishment of what 
the church might consider heresy. Such disregard of its orthodoxy 
it had to deal with without state interference. The laws as they 
stood at that time, secured both the church and the individual citi- 
zen from any injury without respect to motives protecting or assail- 
ing an opinion. The law took cognizance only of acts affecting the 
welfare of either. For this reason New Hampshire has not to an- 
swer in the court of public opinion any charges of persecution for 
conscience's sake. The first settlers of Lancaster seem to have aimed 
to avoid any conflicts over the matter of religion and church. 

The body of Congregational clergymen of that day were educated 
men. Most of them were college bred. Many of them were grad- 
uates of Harvard college. They, and the people, too, recognized 
the fact that they belonged to a learned class to whom everybody 
might look for enlightenment and trustworthy moral guidance in the 
social relations. 

Lancaster was most fortunate in her pioneers. They came here 
free from all narrow and bigoted policies. They were tolerant and 
charitable men and women ; and when they formed a church under 
the name of the regular order, it was wisely framed to keep out 
bigotry and intolerance, and had it not been for coming of less lib- 
eral men, at a later time, in such numbers as to outnumber the 
original representatives of that church, it would have probably re- 
mained the one church of the town for many years longer than it 
did. 

The people of this Upper Coos country had learned to cherish 
political liberty, and that and religious bigotry could not get on 
together. 

The amended law of 1 791, while it still continued the public sup- 
port to the churches of the established order, left a way for those 
who did not wish to support it to get released from the obligation 
by giving notice that they were of some other sect; and in 18 19 the 
Toleration Act put all churches on an even footing, except that con- 
tracts existing between any church and the town could not be broken 
without the consent of the interested party — the church. 

As nearly as can now be learned there was no preaching in Lan- 
caster until the summer of 1787. At the annual town-meeting of 
1786, it was "voted to assess thirty-two dollars to hire preaching 
the ensuing summer." Maj. Jonas Wilder, Emmons Stockwell, and 
Edwards Bucknam were chosen a committee to engage the services 
of a minister. It does not appear that the committee succeeded in 
finding a minister that year; and at the annual meeting, March 27, 



176 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

1788, it was voted to raise the nine pounds and twelve shillings 
appropriated for preaching last year and " hire Preaching this year." 
That year Rev. Lathrop Tomson preached six Sundays for five 
bushels of wheat per day. In 1788, fifty bushels of wheat were 
voted raised for preaching, with Col. Jonas Wilder, Edwards Buck- 
nam, Esq., and Dr. Francis Wilson a committee to engage a minis- 
ter's services. The committee were instructed to " hire preaching " 
about eight Sundays. That ministerial service was regarded as well 
paid, is seen from the fact that when the minister got five bushels of 
wheat a day for preaching, the highway surveyor only got one 
bushel a day for his services with a yoke of oxen. 

The early religious services were generally held in the large house 
of Maj. Jonas Wilder (the Holton place). The terms of engage- 
ment of a minister were short those times, and at irregular intervals. 
There was no public action taken on the matter the following year; 
but in 1790 sixty bushels of wheat were appropriated for preaching, 
and to defray town debts. At a special meeting, April 13, 1790, it 
was voted, 

" That the town will well and truly pay to the Rev. Benjamin Bell, three hun- 
dred bushels of good wheat, annually, on the following conditions: That he, the 
said Rev. Benjamin Bell, shall settle in this town of Lancaster, in the work of the 
Gospel ministry, and that he preach a certain portion of the time in the towns of 
Northumberland and Guildhall, as the towns may agree, saving to the right of 
the said Rev. Benjamin Bell three weeks annually for the use of visiting his friends 
and relations, if he see occasion, and that the Town will unite with the first Church 
that may be hereafter formed in the Town of Lancaster on the conditions in this 
vote mentioned." 

To this vote Joseph Brackett, William P. Hodgdon, and Walter 
Philbrook entered their dissent. We do not know why this vote 
was not carried out, unless the dissent of three prominent men was 
evidence that the gentleman was not capable of satisfying the relig- 
ious thought of the community. 

At a special meeting, April 12, 1791, Col. Jonas Wilder, 
Elisha Wilder, and Stephen Wilson were chosen a committee 
to " hire preaching." The committee was instructed, October 11, to 
" apply to Mr. Thursting (Thurston?) whom is preaching with us, 
to preach with us another term as soon as may be after his engage- 
ments are out other where ; to preach with us on probation as we 
have a view of settling the Gospel with us." At this same meeting 
it was voted to proceed to build a meeting-house, and a committee 
of seven men was chosen to look into the matter, and report a place 
for it. The meeting was adjourned to November 8, 1791, when the 
committee made a report recommending the plain on the south side 
of Isreals river as the most suitable place for such a building. The 
committee consisted of Col. Edwards Bucknam, Col. Jonas Wilder, 
Capt. John Weeks, Lieut. Emmons Stockwell, Lieut. Joseph 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 1 77 

Brackett, Lieut. Dennis Stanley, and Capt. David Page. The com- 
mittee was continued, and instructed to lay out six acres as a meet- 
ing-house lot on the plain as recommended, and inspect its clearing. 
The meeting was adjourned to December 13, 1791, at which time it 
was " voted that John Rosebrook, Jonathan Cram, and Doct. Zadoc 
Sampson be admitted as voting in all matters respecting building a 
meeting-house." The meeting then adjourned to December 22, 
1 79 1, when it was "voted to accept the plan of the meeting-house 
with this alteration, the length of the posts to be 26 ft., and the jet 
26 inches." Lieut. Emmons Stockwell, Capt. John Weeks, Mr. 
Jonas Wilder, Lieut. Jeremiah Wilcox, and Jonas Baker were chosen 
a committee to build the meeting-house. They were instructed by 
the following vote that passed unanimously : 

"That the pews be sold at pubHc vendue. That each person give his note to 
the committee, who shall be authorized to receive the pay and appropriate the 
same. That each person be subjected to the following method of payment. That 
the whole sum be divided into four parts, to be paid the four next succeeding 
years. That each person pay six shillings and eight pence on the pound the first 
year, one half in June, the other in November, the rest to be divided into three 
equal parts and paid in November of each year. That four shillings on the 
the pound be paid in cash, or salts of lye, and the rest in wheat at four shillings 
per bushel, or beef at seventeen shillings and six pence per hundred weight, with 
this restriction, that the committee shall receive each man's equal proportion of 
timber, boards, clapboards, shingles, etc., if good and merchantable, and deliv- 
ered when the committee shall call for them. That each person who buys a pew, 
shall procure sufficient bonds for payment, and his obligation to be lodged in the 
hands of the chairman of the committee, which shall be taken up or endorsed by 
a receipt from the committee." — Town Records. 

The committee proceeded with their task ; but it was no ordinary 
undertaking for a small community to build so large a structure. It 
required over three years to complete the building. We have no 
records of the conversion of the salts of lye, beef, and wheat into 
money ; but we know that those articles were a common substitute 
for money. The people wisely gave themselves three years in 
which to pay their indebtedness to the committee. The building, 
which we have described elsewhere, was sufificiently completed to 
hold a town-meeting in it March ii, 1794. 

While the building of the meeting-house progressed the town 
continued to vote appropriations of money and wheat to pay for 
preaching. In 1792 fifty bushels of wheat were voted for preaching 
and the next year nine pounds were voted to pay for preaching and 
town debts. In 1793 the sum of nine pounds was voted to fell 
trees on the minister's lot. There was a purpose to get ready for 
a minister; and as he would have to help himself to some extent it 
was a matter of prudence to begin a clearing on his lands so as to 
have them ready for a crop to piece out his living. 

At a meeting held April 28, 1794, it was voted " to raise Nine 



178 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Pounds ' solly ' for preaching the present season." On July 28 of 
that year a special meeting was held, at which it was voted to settle 
the Rev. Joseph Willard, and a committee of nine men was ap- 
pointed to draw up proposals for the settlement and salary of Mr. 
Willard. The committee consisted of " Col. Edwards Bucknam, 
Col. Wilder, Capt. Stockwell, Capt. Weeks, Lieut. Brackett, Lieut. 
Rosebrook, Elisha Wilder, Capt. David Page, & Jonas Baker." It 
was further 

"Voted to clear the fell trees on the minister's right and fit for the harrow by 
the 1st. of Oct. in the year 1795, and give 20 pounds in lumber towards building 
on demand, and including rights given by charter to the first settled minister, to 
be given to Mr. Willard if he settles with us in the ministry." 

" Voted: To give Rev. Joseph Willard fifty pounds a year for the next three 
succeeding years after settlement then to rise in proportion to the valuation as it 
now stands to the sum of eighty pounds to be paid annually during his ministry 
one third in cash, the other two thirds in produce on condition that we can get 
such help from the neighboring towns as is now expected." 

A committee was appointed to confer with the other towns in re- 
gard to having Mr. Willard preach for them a portion of the time at 
proportional rates on the salary the town had • agreed to pay him. 
That committee consisted of Colonels Bucknam and Wilder, and 
Captain Stockwell. They were unable to effect satisfactory arrange- 
ments with the other towns, and at an adjourned meeting, August 
7, 1794, the town voted to complete its proposed contract with Rev. 
Mr. Willard and not make any arrangements with other towns. It 
was further agreed to pay the proportion of his salary in produce at 
the " cash price," and the selectmen were authorized to agree with 
Mr. Willard as to the price on the first day of March each year. 

A committee, consisting of Colonel Wilder, Lieutenants Cram 
and Rosebrook, was appointed to arrange for a " theological coun- 
cil to attend to the installation if it thinks it needed." Further it was 
voted to concur with the church in giving Mr. Willard a call. 

Rev. Joseph Willard had been preaching here meanwhile ; and 
while these negotiations were pending, he had organized the First 
Congregational Church. A statement of belief and covenant had 
been drawn up and signed by some twenty-four persons, fourteen of 
whom were women, on July 17, 1794. The church, being intended 
to accommodate the religious wants of the town, its covenant was 
sufificiently indefinite to cover a variety of shades of Christian belief 
and practice. Mr. Willard being a graduate of Harvard college 
shared the spirit of liberality that had begun to characterize that seat 
of learning. From the fact that he never preached upon the con- 
troverted points of theology then attracting increasing attention 
throughout New England, justifies the conclusion that he was much 
more liberal than the majority of Congregational ministers of his day. 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. I 79 

He was practical and charitable in all his relations to the church. 
For many years his salary was paid by the selectmen, who took his 
receipt for the same. The people cheerfully voted considerable sums 
to assist in clearing his lands and building his house. His lands were 
meadow and house lots 32, and lot 6, range 15, and lot i, range 25, 
adjoining his other lots. This comprised a valuable lot of land of 
one hundred and seventy acres in a compact body. He developed 
a good farm, and secured from it a good share of his living. 

For a period of twenty-eight years good old Parson Willard, as 
he was familiarly called by those who knew him best, served his 
church to their entire satisfaction, and was loved and honored by 
his old neighbors and parishioners ; but there came a time when a 
younger generation of people and others coming into town from 
other localities where theological controversy had been rife, became 
suspicious that their minister was not " sound in the faith." They 
missed the allusion to the hard theological dogmas that were com- 
mon in other places. It began to be whispered about the town that 
Mr. Willard " was not sound in the faith." 

The town had now begun to be affected by the sectarian strife 
and rivalry that was rife throughout New England. The Rev. Mr. 
Willard had no desire to be connected with it. He deplored the 
whole thing, and aimed to pursue a pacific, independent course ; 
but that did not satisfy the disaffected ones. They clamored for 
what they called "strong doctrines." Mr. Willard proposed to the 
church that his relation as a pastor be dissolved ; but those who 
had known him so long as a true minister of religion would not 
hear to it. Things went along for a few more years, when it became 
apparent to Mr. Willard that the opposition to him was too formid- 
able to be met by pacific tactics, and he resigned. After laying 
the situation before his church, they this time saw fit to accept his 
resignation, the story of which is given by Rev. G. H. Tilton in his 
sketch of the Orthodox Congregational church, in Part II, Chapter 10. 

When Lancaster received an inflation of her population, about 
1800, there came to her many shades of belief that did not readily 
yield to the prevailing religious thought and practices of the town. 
Among these new-comers were people whose training had been 
in other evangelical sects. In 1800, John Langdon and Rosebrook 
Crawford, two Methodist ministers, appeared in Lancaster, introduc- 
ing new methods of religious propagandism. The refined, quiet, 
dignified and rational methods of Rev. Mr. Willard were opposed 
by their very opposites. These men were loud enthusiasts, making 
use of sensational means to uproot and supplant the moderate 
" standing order," as manifested in the First Congregational church 
of Lancaster. While the friends of the First Church, as it was com- 
monly called, were shocked at this new order of teachers, they were 



l80 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

a minority of the population, and the sympathies of the new-comers 
were largely with the new preachers. The community was deeply 
agitated over the matter of competition, and even came to open 
conflict with the new order of religious teachers. The hot-headed 
and less reasonable element of the conservative followers of Mr. 
Willard took Rosebrook Crawford to the river and ducked him and 
offered him some other insults, chiefly by connecting his name with 
certain scandals, which, to an impartial mind, seem to have had 
some color of truth in them. Langdon escaped violence as his 
record seemed clean ; and aside from that he was a man of consid- 
erable ability and character, and did much to plant his church in 
these northern towns. They held their services about town in pri- 
vate residences and schoolhouses, and made many converts. The 
home of Dennis Stanley, where Capt. Alexander M. Beattie now 
lives, was one of their favorite preaching places for many years. 
Exhorters and preachers of that sect were common here for a 
number of years, and having made some converts to their creed, the 
church after a time adopted a wiser policy. They sent a more in- 
telligent, and in fact an educated, class of ministers here, with the 
result of establishing a strong church that has kept the lead among 
the evangelical sects of the town ever since its establishment. When 
the old First church became so weak from desertions from its ranks 
and splits within it that it could not support services in the old 
meeting-house, the Methodist preachers made use of that building 
as their meeting-place for a time. 

It was not long after the coming of the Methodists to Lancaster 
that the Baptists made a like invasion of Jefferson, and at once 
began to overrun the adjoining towns in manner as the former 
did in this town. A Baptist church was early formed in Jefferson, 
and other places were occupied by them as preaching points. 
Between the Methodists and Baptists no special rivalry existed, but 
both trained their weapons of aggressive conflict against the Con- 
gregationalist church. They made many proselytes from that old 
church. For some years desertions from Rev. Joseph Willard's 
church were common ; and some who wished to get rid of the 
church tax took advantage of the opportunity to nominally connect 
their religious contributions to some other church. Such persons 
could evade the support of Mr. Willard by giving notice to the town 
clerk that they belonged to another church. In 1802, this notice 
was served on the town clerk : 

" Gentlemen, Selectmen of Lancaster. 

" This may certify that the within named persons have given their names 
to the Baptist society in Jefferson and belong to the same, to wit : Saml. LeGro, 
Saml. Springer, Jr., Caleb Page. 

" Saml. Plaisted, Presiding Elder in behalf of this society. 
"Jefferson February 17, 1802." 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 151 

Another notice to the same effect had been given by a preacher 
of the Methodist society. 

" This may certify to all whom it may concern that Benjamin Bishop 
attends our ministry and supports the same, Being a member of our Society. 

" Signed by Nathan Felch Jr., a licensed Preacher of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in America." 
" Lancaster Jan. i, 1802." 

There are many such notices spread upon the pages of the town 
records. Some of the foremost men and women of the town went 
over to the new sects, leaving the old church to fall into decrepitude, 
and its once loved old edifice into decay. Emmons Stockwell, in 
1803, gave notice that he had cast his lot with the Baptists; and in 
the same year John Mclntire did likewise. Joel Page went over to 
the Methodists, asserting in his notice that he was " most consci- 
entious in it." 

In 181 7 Eliezer S. Phelps gives notice that one Frederick M. 
Stone has signified a " willingness to support the gospel, and has 
attended my meeting and wishes to be free from supporting and 
paying Joseph Willard." Mr. Phelps signs himself as agent of the 
Methodist society. This led some others, among whom I find the 
names of Sylvanus Chessman and Levi Stebbins, to give notice that 
they would no longer pay minister's tax as they had not considered 
themselves as members of the First church. It does not appear 
that this class claimed any connection with other churches. They 
simply wanted to quit paying the tax to support any church, other 
than as they might see fit to do. This refusal seems to have been 
heeded by the selectmen and assessors, as there is no evidence that 
they were taxed after the notice was given. Events like this show 
us how feeble the law and public sentiment were on the question of 
forcing one to pay for the support of a church after he no longer 
wished to do so. 

A period had been entered upon in which the old First church 
lost its prestige and influence as " the church " of the town. It was 
now being rivalled by two distinct movements that, as yet, had not 
shown any haste to organize churches. It was the aim of the 
Methodist and Baptist leaders to convert the people away from the 
old church. The time was not then come for them to organize. 
The Methodists preached here until 1831 before they formally 
organized a church, and until 1834 before building a meeting- 
house. 

In the winter of 18 16 and 181 7, a woman from Whitefield, called 
" Mother Hutchins," the grandmother of the well known Stilson 
Hutchins of Washington, D. C, held religious services in differ- 
ent places in Lancaster, more frequently at the " Gotham " school- 



1 82 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

house, in what used to be old District No. 5. She frequently 
preached at the house of John Weeks Brackett which stood near 
the red schoolhouse in old District No. 8. 

Mr. Brackett became deeply interested in the movement, and 
while it was a source of comfort and spiritual strength to him yet it 
proved disastrous to him financially, for these religious enthusiasts, 
for such they were, coming from miles around, lodged themselves 
and teams upon him until they actually ate him out of house and 
home. Before that time he had been a fairly prosperous farmer ; 
but from the neglect of his business and the mistaken charity of 
feeding the multitudes that thronged his house he lost everything he 
had, and was forced to leave the country to seek opportunity to 
make a new start in life. Those people were so thoughtlessly, 
selfishly happy over the thought that they were getting their souls 
saved, that it never occurred to them that they were crowding their 
neighbor Brackett into bankruptcy and an early and untimely grave ; 
but such proved to be the case. 

" Mother " Hutchins was a woman of very remarkable ability, and 
full of tact and zeal in making converts, and her influence was not 
without value, as is often the case with zealots. Her influence was 
moral, and ministered unto the intellectual life of the people who 
came under it. She was a tall, strong woman, not particularly 
masculine in appearance and manner, at that time over fifty years of 
age, kindly and motherly in spirit. 

Her meetings were largely attended by people from adjoining 
towns ; and when the enthusiasm reached its height in the winter 
of 18 1 8-18 19, it was a common thing to see many women and girls 
lose their strength and fall upon the fioor, and behave, at times, in 
a most shocking manner. 

The staid adherents of the old First church were shocked in the most 
extreme measure to behold this wild enthusiasm. They must have 
thought the people possessed by demons, or gone mad. Their 
religious emotions had been worked upon so much that it produced 
a form of hysteria of the nervous system, that caused them to com- 
pletely lose their energies under a return of the same emotional 
excitement, as we have come to understand the disease in later times. 
Then it was regarded by those coming under its influence as, if not 
miraculous, at least bordering upon the miraculous. Some whole 
families would be overcome in their homes during their religious 
devotions; and at public meetings it was " the proper thing" to do 
to get under the " influence." 

In keeping with this wild enthusiasm was the mistake of encour- 
aging many ignorant laymen in taking part in conducting their 
meetings. Noise and the relation of their personal experiences, 
real and imaginary, was taken as evidence of religiousness, which 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 1 83 

led the misguided and designing to play a part that did not always 
redound to the credit of their movement. This condition of affairs 
lasted until some time after 1830, when the Methodist church put 
upon the Lancaster circuit men of more education and refinement 
of character, who led their large following to a more quiet and sin- 
cere manner of manifesting their religious fervor. This had a reac- 
tionary influence upon the entire community ; and as time went on 
religion assumed a more dignified manner. The last of that class 
of noisy preachers was one Dyke, familiarly called " Brother Dyke," 
who built the first parsonage of the Methodist church in Lancaster, 
which is still standing on Middle street, and occupied by James 
A. Stebbins. He was a remarkable character in some respects, 
a man of considerable talent, but whose forte was in loud exhorta- 
tion. 

A Calvinistic Baptist church flourished in town as early as 1809; 
but its records have been lost for many years, and nothing is known 
of it beyond the fact that it once had quite a following. It seems 
that when " Mother Hutchins " came here she turned many of its 
adherents into Freewill Baptists, and its continuity was broken 
until about i860, when it was revived or replanted in Lancaster. 
The movement never was a strong one, and was suffered to die out 
after a brief struggle for existence. 

As we approach the middle of this century we come upon many 
interesting questions that engaged the attention of the churches. 
The people were not so provincial or insular in their religious 
thought as they were at the beginning of the century, when the dis- 
ciples of Whitefield and the Baptists invaded this region. The 
newspaper press had been established in Lancaster since 1837, 
which may be always taken as a sure sign that a local public opin- 
ion is breaking down and that the people are beginning to feel out 
in their thought to what is thought, said, and done in the world at 
large. At such times people of an isolated community begin to 
take on a larger phase of culture, and at the same time become 
critical in their opinions. It was so, at all events, in Lancaster. 
National and world-wide questions were coming to have a strong 
influence upon all the institutions of the community. Politics and 
business had already felt the influence of national movements, and 
had undergone important changes. Lancaster was then within 
forty-eight hours of Boston, the metropolis of New England, and the 
hot-bed of all manner of new movements in thought. Men of a 
national reputation as scholars and orators had been in the habit of 
coming into these mountains during their vacations, and as lecturers 
on the popular platform of that day. The old men had been dis- 
cussing these larger themes about the streets, and in the hotels and 
stores, where the long winter evenings were wont to be spent, and 



1 84 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the younger men and boys had Hstened to their observations at first, 
no doubt, with open-eyed wonder, but after a time in a more ques- 
tioning mood. 

Then came the debating chib, called in Lancaster the lyceum, 
participated in by the leading thinkers of the village. The lawyers, 
editors, physicians, teachers, and merchants discussed the live ques- 
tions of the day. We do not find the names of the clergymen on 
its roll of membership, nor among the disputants. Perhaps they 
were not interested in the subjects discussed, as they were not what 
were supposed to belong to their " sacred " calling. The themes 
considered were mostly ethical and political ones. This institution, 
one that did so much to train men to a ready thought upon all man- 
ner of questions, was a strong rival of the church, which up to the 
time of which we are speaking was the one institution that molded 
public opinion with a masterly hand. Here was an entering wedge 
that was destined to split in twain what had for a century or more 
been the double function of the churches in this country, — the influ- 
ence of the minister, powerful over public opinion only in the ratio 
of difficulties that prevented his opinions being replied to by his 
hearers. 

Now that the newspaper and lyceum had appealed to the thought 
of men, and had left an opportunity for reply, — in fact, they had 
both invited it, — the people became accustomed to do their own 
thinking, and uttered their thoughts with a commendable degree of 
freedom, a freedom not seen in Lancaster for two generations under 
the influence of the established order of things. Formalities and 
conformities had weighed heavily upon the mind and spirit of the 
people, but now these burdensome accretions of the community life 
had fallen away, and they had even come to hold them in con- 
tempt. Their thought and spirit had come to conform more closely 
to its actual environment than to the traditional ones, in which they 
had stood in a false awe of. For twenty years men had been read- 
ing and thinking upon the great problems that engaged the thought 
of the ablest minds throughout the civilized world. 

These movements had their influence upon the religious thought 
and life of Lancaster, for they could no longer be separated from 
them by any classification. To call them " secular," or " mere 
morality," did not destroy their influence upon the minds of the 
people. The time had come when men demanded that religion 
take cognizance of secular and moral questions. Religion, if it were 
to command men, must face every point of the social horizon. To 
worship God, and assure one's self that he was saved for another 
world, was not enough to satisfy the thought of the deep thinkers, 
of which class Lancaster had many at that time. 

Traditional religious doctrines and practices were called in ques- 



RELIGION AND CHURCHES. 1 85 

tion. New doctrines and practices came to be entertained, and 
about this time a liberal, rational, non-creedal church came into 
existence in Lancaster, — " the First Congregational society" (Uni- 
tarian). This new society numbered among its members the men 
who had taken strong grounds against the Mexican War and slavery. 
The minister of the new church, Rev. George M. Rice, was a pro- 
nounced anti-slavery agitator. He went farther, however, than his 
society cared to follow in the matter ; but the time had arrived when 
churches must deal with those so-called "secular and moral" ques- 
tions. The churches lent their influence strongly to the temperance 
agitation that culminated in the prohibitory law that has existed in 
the state for over forty years. When the War of the Rebellion 
broke out, the pulpits were not silent on the great questions in- 
volved in that struggle for the preservation of the Union. Nor have 
they been often lacking in the courage to deal with questions out- 
side of their creeds in the past quarter of a century. 

Soon after the migration of Irish to this country, following the 
period of famine in Ireland, there were settled in Lancaster some of 
that race of people who have been for so many centuries devotees 
of the Roman Catholic church. Some time after 1850, their num- 
bers had increased in Lancaster to an extent that enabled them to 
hope for religious teachings of their own church, and in time a 
church. Services were held here at irregular intervals until 1858, 
when the old Deacon Farrar place on Main street, where the par- 
sonage and church now stand, was bought by the late Father 
Noiseux and remodeled into a residence for the priest, and a chapel 
in which services were held for some years. A church was insti- 
tuted, and as time has gone by the numbers have increased so that 
to-day it is the largest religious society in Lancaster, numbering 
more communicants than all the other societies combined. The 
present building, "All Saints" was erected in 1877. 

About the same time the Calvinistic Baptist society, already re- 
ferred to, was organized. The Protestant Episcopal society was 
organized about the same time. 

Since that time the history of religion in Lancaster has been very 
similar to that of any other community in New England. One sees 
here the same excess of denominationalism over and above genuine 
religious conviction of thought and charity that prevails throughout 
the country at large. Every sect numbers among its adherents 
intelligent, earnest, sincere men and women who are the salt of the 
earth, and who exert that true conservative spirit that while it does 
not run to excess in the erratic notions and practices of the times yet 
does not go backward to the dead men's ideas in the outgrown past 
for their example. They are capable of making and of following 
their own examples when circumstances of greater enlightenment 



1 86 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

demand it of them. They are the true conservators of rehgion and 
its institutions who use them as the instrumentahties of spiritual 
growth, rather than bow down to them as fetiches. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
LANCASTER IN RELATION TO THE VERMONT CONTROVERSY. 

We cannot well pass by a matter so grave as that of the so-called 
Vermont Controversy without pausing to give it our serious consid- 
eration. This triangular controversy between New York, New 
Hampshire, and Vermont drew forth from General George Washing- 
ton the statement that the future of American independence might 
have been sacrificed by a wrong termination of it. A question of 
such serious magnitude, and one in which Lancaster bore some part, 
deserves careful and thorough study at our hands. 

This controversy, that came so near working the serious mischief 
that Washington saw as one of its possibilities, sprang from the pol- 
icy of Governor Benning Wentworth indiscriminately granting lands 
by charters for new towns in a territory that was in dispute 
between his state and New York. As we have said, elsewhere. 
Governor Wentworth thought to get the start of the governor of 
New York by granting charters to the lands in dispute, and so 
granted no less than sixty charters in a single year — 176 1 — for 
towns in the disputed territory on the west side of the river. His 
grants also extended up the east side of the Connecticut river a con- 
siderable distance, making a solid body of townships in the fertile 
valley. 

In 1 764 the dispute had grown so bitter between the two states 
that New York took an appeal to the king, who declared the west- 
ern bank of the Connecticut river, from the northern line of Massa- 
chusetts to the forty-fifty degree of latitude, the boundary between 
New Hampshire and New York. For a period of more than twelve 
years the towns on either side of the river put different constructions 
on the rulings of the king. New Hampshire towns, or those on the 
east side of the river, claimed that the king's ruling applied only to 
the future and did not undo the grants by Governor Wentworth, 
while the towns on the west side of the river claimed that the king 
meant to undo Governor Wentworth's grants, and that they were in 
New York, and must look to that state to make their titles valid by 
rechartering the townships. As we shall see presently Lancaster 
took the same view of the matter that the other New Hampshire 
towns did, but later, when another complication of the question 
arose, she failed to act with the seceding towns on the western side. 



IN RELATION TO THE VERMONT CONTROVERSY. 1 87 

The matter dragged its weary length along with little friction from 
1764 to the time of the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, 
when it took a new turn, one wholly unexpected to everybody. 

Both in New Hampshire and New York those disaffected towns 
involved in the controversy of the past twelve years interpreted the 
Declaration of Independence as absolving them from all allegiance 
to either of the two states, and that they were left in what they chose 
to call " a state of nature." Immediately a movement was set on 
foot to form a new state out of the towns on the upper Connecticut 
valley that were granted since 1761. The movement was welcomed 
by some sixteen towns in New Hampshire which accordingly re- 
fused to send delegates to the state convention that was called to 
meet at Exeter in 1779 to frame a state constitution. 

During the second year of the Revolutionary struggle, and while 
matters were far from certain as to how the issues of the war would 
result, the towns west of the river had called a convention which met 
at Windsor, and framed a constitution and declared themselves a 
new and sovereign state. The sixteen recusant towns in New Hamp- 
shire now petitioned the acting government in 1779, for permission 
to ally themselves to the new state of Vermont. This, of course, was 
refused them by the New Hampshire government, and from that 
time forward, for a period of three years, the strife grew hotter. Both 
New Hampshire and New York had disregarded the boundary es- 
tablished by the king in 1764; and it seemed at one time as if the 
disputed territory might be divided pretty evenly between the two 
states, thus preventing the newly formed state of Vermont from 
becoming a state after all. This caused Vermont to redouble its dil- 
igence in the matter of securing recognition as a sovereign state. 
The state of New Hampshire had renewed its claim to the towns 
west of the river in the call for the convention in 1779. The Ver- 
monters now pressed their claims westward into New York as well 
as eastward into New Hampshire. It was at this juncture of the con- 
troversy that Lancaster was drawn into it. The town shared the 
belief that the towns west of the river should go with those east of it 
as granted by Governor Wentworth, some seventy-five in all, and if 
the towns west of the river were to go to the formation of a new 
state Lancaster was willing to share their destiny with them. Besides, 
the government of New Hampshire had done little, almost nothing, 
to aid the towns in this Upper Coos country. 

There were living, at the time, in the Connecticut River valley 
many people who had come from the state of Connecticut; and if 
the territory west of the river was to be divided they would much 
rather have seen a new state formed of the dissatisfied towns on both 
sides of the river under the name of New Connecticut. This feeling 
had some advocates in Lancaster, and when a convention to consider 



1 88 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

that question was called to meet at Dresden, then a part of Hanover 
belonging to Dartmouth college, Lancaster at once called a town- 
meeting to convene July 12, 1779, at the house of Jonas Wilder, 
who had only come to Lancaster the year before from Massachusetts, 
to elect a delegate to the Dresden convention. Major Jonas Wilder 
was chosen as the representative of the town to that convention. The 
meeting also declared itself on the question at dispute by the follow- 
ing vote : " Voted by all the legal voters of this town of Lancaster 
that it is their minds unanimously that the whole of the New Hamp- 
shire Grants on both sides of the Connecticut River hold all to- 
gether." What action that convention took, or whether it was con- 
founded with the one held at Cornish, in which thirty-four towns on 
the east side of the river were represented, we do not know as no 
records of either are known to have been made. It may be inferred, 
however, that nothing of importance was done as the movement to 
form the state of New Connecticut, with Dresden, the seat of Dart- 
mouth college, as its capital, disappeared from the drama of state- 
making. 

Vermont, however, seems to have gone on with her government, 
and welcomed some towns on the east side of the river into her legis- 
lature. Haverhill and Lebanon were represented in the Vermont 
legislature, as was also Apthorp, while Lancaster which was classed 
with the latter town still continued to be represented in the New 
Hampshire legislature. A rupture between Vermont and the towns 
on the east side of the river took place when the latter requested 
to be erected into a separate county. The most that the Vermont 
legislature would do was to set them off as a probate district. 

About this stage of the affair the legislature of New Hampshire 
brought the matter to the attention of congress, while Vermont made 
threats of allying herself with the British. While congress took 
notice of the matter there was some doubt as to the powers 
of the new congress but in the letter of General Washington, 
referred to above, to Governor Chittenden of Vermont, he frankly in- 
formed him that congress could, and under certain condition would 
use its power to coerce the state of Vermont into the recognition of 
New Hampshire's claims to the territory east of the river. That 
persuaded Vermont into a peaceable settlement of the dispute, and 
the towns on the east side of the river returned to full allegiance with 
the mother state, under whose fostering care some of them had been 
highly favored. This kept about 13,000 of New Hampshire's 85,000 
of population in the state. 

Through all this period of doubt and disturbance Lancaster never 
seceded from her state. She favored the formation of a new state 
within the valley of the great river that formed their first and, for a 
time, only highway to the lower country. It is not known whether 



SOME EARLY MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 1 89 

anybody in Lancaster ever favored the dismemberment of New- 
Hampshire for the promotion of Vermont or any other state west of 
the river. The fact that Lancaster took no action to get into the 
state of Vermont may be taken as an evidence that her intentions 
were patriotic and loyal; but if a new state was to be formed by 
including all the towns granted by Governor Wentworth in the Con- 
necticut valley they no doubt favored the project. What steps they 
would have taken to sever their ties with New Hampshire can only 
be idle speculation, as not a record exists to show their attitude on 
the question of such severance. Lancaster never took any farther 
action on the question after the Dresden convention. When Ver- 
mont demanded of congress that she be admitted into the Union in 
1780, while her controversy with New Hampshire over the boundary 
question was pending, she went so far as to say that if admission was 
denied her then she would have to make the best possible arrange- 
ments with the British government, when she went, so that Lancaster 
could not have followed her. Lancaster had taken up arms against 
Great Britain, and had nothing to gain by laying them down. The / 
town had its own Independent Company of Rangers, led by Major// 
Benjamin Whitcomb, in the field, beside nearly all its available men 
outside of this company were either enlisted in other companies or 
else doing duty as scouts or as garrison for the three forts in 
Northumberland and Stratford. Lancaster was unalterably opposed 
to the British government, for at the time they had manifested a 
disposition to make use of the Indians against the frontier towns, in 
fact, this section had suffered no little alarm from Indian depreda- 
tions incited by the war. The people were loyal to the cause of 
American independence, and would not take any risk of losing what 
it had then begun to promise, by allying themselves with a state 
that threatened to carry them into the hands of their enemies. 



CHAPTER XV. 

SOME EARLY MARRIAGES AND DEATHS.— 1785-1850. 

By Echuai-ds Bucknam, y. P. : 

Nathan Caswell to Lois Eames, Nov. i, 1785. 
William Johnson to Polly Stockwell, Nov. 13, 1786. 
George Brown to Polly Bucknam, Sept. 3, 1789. 
Nathaniel Lovewell to Charlotte Stockwell, Dec. 27, 1792. 
John Mclntire to Sally Stockwell, March 19, 1792. 
Richard Claire Everett to Persis Wilder, Dec. 17, 1793. 



190 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

John Sanborn to Sally Crawford, of Guildhall, Vt., Nov. 12, 1795. 
Ezekiel Bruce to Hatabel Crosby, both of Southbury, Mass., April 

30, 1787. 
Jacob Emerson, of Lunenburg, Vt., to Polly Hartwell, April 19, 

1797. 
Daniel How, of Guildhall, Vt., to Eunice Bucknam, Sept. 7, 1788. 
Dr. Francis Wilson to Tempa Giddings, of Hartland, Conn., Dec, 

1788. 
Levi Lucas to Sally Smith, Nov. 27, 1800. 

Marriages by Other yustices of the Peace and Clergymen : 

Titus O. Brown to Susanna Bundy, Feb. 16, 1794. 

Thomas Miner, of Littleton, N. H., to Abigail Page, March 11, 

1795- 
Jonathan Springer to Eunice Wilder, Oct. 5, 1795. 
Nathaniel Babb, of Guildhall, Vt., to Olive McLitire, March 2, 1796. 
Jonathan Rosebrook to Polly Monroe, of Guildhall, Vt., July 17, 

1796. 
Sylvanus Chessman to Betsey Blodget, Nov. 17, 1796. 
William Lovejoy to Polly Moor, of Northumberland, Dec. 29, 1796. 
John Brackett to Eunice Clark, of Lunenburg, Vt., April 26, 1797. 
Francis Cram to Polly Gustin, Feb. 13, 1797. 
Levi Willard to Dorcas Farnham, June i, 1797. 
James Perkins to Lucy Wilder, Nov. 2, 1797. 
Joseph Twombley to Dorcas Applebee, Dec. 28, 1797. 
Hope Brown to Irena Rosebrook, Dec. 31, 1797. 
Manasah Wilder to Nancy Springer, March 29, 1798. 
Joshua Hopkinson, of Guildhall, Vt., to widow Polly Rosebrook,, 

Sept. I, 1799. 
Artemas Wilder, Jr., to Catherine Sherbon, of Conway, Oct. 26, 

1799. 
Uriel Rosebrook to Susan Fowle, of Guildhall, Vt., July 15, 1800. 
John Waldron, of Lunenburg, Vt., to Submit Taylor, Dec. 29, 1800. 
Azariah Webb to Eliza Weeks, Jan. i, 1801. 
Richard Eastman to Persis Faulkner, May 5, 1801. 
Dr. Jedediah Chapman to Eunice Wilder, Oct. 28, 1801. 
John Springer to Lydia Hartshorn, of Lunenburg, Vt., Feb. 8, 1801. 
Geo. Ingerson to Betsey Libbey Hawley, Feb. 26, 1801. 
Aaron Hill, of Canada, to Hannah Hopkins, Sept. 27, 1801. 
Elias Chapman to Polly White, March 18, 1802. 
Jack Page to Betsey Burgen, July 13, 1802. 
Sylvester Faulkner to Polly Cram, Dec. 19, 1802, 
Ezra Otis to Dolly Farnham, Dec. 30, 1802. 
Peter Fuller, of Dalton, to Betsey Hodgson, Feb. 23, 1803. 



SOME EARLY MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 1 91 

David White to Nabby Chapman, Feb. 29, 1803. 

Henry Philbrook to Betsey Stiles, Aug. ii, 1803. 

Samuel Glover to Rachael Taylor, Aug. 19, 1804. 

Thomas Jenison, of Walpole, to Martha Moore, Jan. 31, 1805. 

Joseph Peabody, of Northumberland, to widow Hannah Farnham, 

March 1 1, 1805. 
James Twombley to Rebekah Twombley, March 14, 1 805, 
Jonas Benman to Abigail Layton, Nov. 3, 1805. 
John W. Weeks to Martha Brackett, Nov. 17, 1805. 
Joseph Farnham to Mary Robertson, Dec. 25, 1806. 
Jonathan Cram to Katy C. Chapman, Aug. 9, 1807. 
Seth Fames, of Northumberland, to Peggy Moore, March 6, 1808. 
Francis Wilson to Betsey Moore, Oct. 27, 1808. 
Adino N. Brackett to Mary W. Weeks, Nov. i, 1808. 
Ephraim Stockwell to Sally Greenleaf, Nov. 20, 1809. 
James B. Weeks to Betsey Stanley, Jan. i, 18 10. 
Walter Philbrook to Nancy Brown, Jan. 4, 18 10. 
Reuben Stephenson to Mary Baker, Feb. 25, 18 10. 
Samuel White to Sally Freeman, April 2, t8io. 
Joseph Balch to Eliza LeGro, Jan. 31, 181 1. 
Timothy Durgin, of Colebrook, to Maria Page, Jan. 19, 181 1. 
Samuel Hartwell to Martha Thomas, March 31, 181 1. 
Joseph Pearson, Jr. to Sophia Baker, Feb. 17, 181 1. 
Reuben W. Freeman to Betsey Hartwell, March 25, 18 12. 
John Mclntire to Susanna Bucknam, Nov. 4, 18 12. 
Wilham Mitchell to Rebecca Martin, April 15, 1812. 
Moses Darby to Ruth Gotham, April 14, 18 12. 
Warren Porter to Celinda Cram, Oct. 14, 18 13. 
John Kilby to Tamson Wentworth, Nov. ii, 1813. 
Moses Martin to Dorcas Holmes, Feb. 8, 18 14. 
Abner Stone to Deborah Moulton, of Jefferson, June 19, 18 14. 
Eben Lane to Sophia Chessman, May 15, 18 14. 
Benjamin Hunking to Drusilla S. Everett, May 16, 1814. 
E. Andrew to Nancy Greenleaf, Nov. 23, 18 14. 
Wm. Huggins to Comfort Moore, Jan. 30, 18 14. 
John Huckins to Lucy Hemmenway, Dec. i, 18 14. 
Edward Spaulding to Sally Moore, Dec. i, 18 14. 
John Moore to Harmony Freeman, Jan. 30, 1815. 
Noah White, of Piermont, to Fanny Moore, Feb. 14, 181 5. 
Moses T. Hunt to Martha Willard, April 30, 181 5. 
Benj. Wentworth to Lucinda Hayes, Aug. 23, 181 5. 
Edward Boardman to Sarah Brackett Weeks, Jan. 25, 18 16. 
Samuel A. Pearson, Esq., to Sarah Ann Boardman, June 5, 18 16. 
James Batchelder to Betsey Holmes, Nov. 14, 18 16. 
John Dow to Polly Swan, June 6, 18 16. 



192 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Amos LeGro to Roxanna Daggett, June 9, 18 16. 

Alpheas Hutchins to Eunice Greenleaf, Feb. 26, 18 17. 

Hezekiah Smith to Sarah LeGro, June 26, 181 7. 

Samuel LeGro to Fanny Marden, Oct. 16, 18 17. 

John Currier, of Corinth, Vt., to Mary Moore, Oct. 20, 18 17. 

Ephraim Cross, of Derby, Vt., to Lucy Messer, Dec. 30, 1817. 

Benj. C. Stephens to Sally Faulkner, April 2, 1818. 

Lieut. Charles Baker to Margaret Notton, Nov. 29, 181 8. 

Benj. Hayes to Eliza Twombley, Aug. 9, 18 18. 

Benj. Stephenson to Mary Wilson, Oct. 24, 18 19. 

Heber Blanchard to Fanny Leavens, Oct. 25, 18 19. 

Wm. Curtis, of Medford, to Emily Johnson, Sept. 19. 18 19. 

James Marden to Hannah LeGro, March 21, 1820. 

James Balch, of Lunenburg, to Nancy Moore, Nov. 30, 1820. 

Benj. D. Alexander, of Dalton, to Sally Brooks, Sept. 12, 1820. 

David Weed, of Whitefield, to Betsey , April 27, 1820. 

William D. Spaulding to Debby F. Stephenson, Feb. 11, 1821. 
Daniel Stebbins to Louisa Moore, March 11, 1821. 
Maj. John W. Weeks to Persis F. Everett, March 15, 1821. 
Shackford Wentworth to Hannah Smith, March 18, 1821. 
John W. Spaulding to Electa Stebbins, March 29, 1821. 
Greenleaf Philbrook to Lavinia Gotham, June 4, 1821. 
Abel Leavens to Sophronia Willard, Nov. 29, 1821. 
Wm. Bullard to Elmira Perkins, August 7, 1821. 

Robert C. Shackford to Nancy Cutter , June 20, 1821. 

Dudley Merrill to Eunice LeGro, Feb. 3, 1822. 

Asa Hood to Mary Putnam, July i, 1822. 

Charles J. Stewart, Esq., to Eliza Austin, of Jefferson, July 4, 1822. 

George Darby to Eliza Farnham, April 17, 1822. 

Benj. Stanley to Harriet Page, June 30, 1822. 

Jacob Batchelder, of Lyman, to Martha Holmes, June 2, 1823. 

Oliver Merrill to Sarah Mclntire, Oct. 30, 1823. 

Wm. Moore to Eliza W. Spaulding, Jan. 29, 1823. 

John Willard to Sophronia Stebbins, April 10, 1823. 

Francis Leavens to Abigail LeGro, June 12, 1823. 

Samuel Banfield to Dorcas Twombley, April 29, 1823. 

William Farrar to Triphenia Burgin, Aug. 19, 1823. 

Willard to Frances B. Wilson, March 18, 1824. 

Geo. Gamsby, of Thetford, to Olivia Hodgson, Dec. 23, 1824. 
John Hunt to Martha P. Moore, J-an. 2, 1826. 

William D. Spaulding to Sarah Ann Goss, , 1826. 

Geo. Draper, of Brattleboro, to Lucy R. Barnard, Feb. 6, 1826. 
Charles Bellows to Elvira Wilson, June 29, 1826. 
Henry White to Ann Moore, Dec. 26, 1826. 



DEATHS OF PROMINENT PERSONS. 1 93 

DEATHS OF PROMINENT PERSONS FROM THE EARLIEST 
TIMES TO 1850. 

We do not offer the following list of deaths as complete, the 
imperfect sources of information preventing. The names and dates 
here given are taken from various sources, and are reliable, though 
not as full as we should like to have had them. 

May II, 1800, Jonathan Hartwell. 

July 31, 1 80 1, Betsey, wife of Deacon Jonas Baker, aged 45. 

Aug. 23, 1 801, Joseph Farnham, Esq., aged 62. 

March 15, 1802, Elizabeth, wife of Maj. Jonas Wilder, aged ^y . 

March iq, 1804, Eunice, wife of Jonathan Springer. 

July 19, 1804, Widow Deborah Turner, aged 88. 

July 15, 1806, Elijah Page, aged 21. 

Aug. 19, 1809, Joseph Daggett, aged 38. 

Feb. 5, 1808, Martha, wife of John W. Weeks. 

July 25, 1808, the wife of David Greenleaf. 

April 28, 1809, Nathaniel White, aged 57. 

Feb. 4, 1 8 10, Col. Jonas Wilder, aged 79. 

181 1 — Francis Wilson, aged 49; Lieut. Jonathan Cram, Aug. 28, 
of small pox, aged — ; Mary, wife of Stephen Wilson, aged 
45 ; Asa W. Burnap, aged 45. 

1813 — John Wilson, aged 80; Lieut. Humphrey Cram, aged 41; 
Nicholas White, aged 54; Col. Stephen Wilson, aged 45; 
Lieut. Dennis Stanley, aged 26; Jonathan Cram, aged 28; 
Soloman Hemmenway, aged 64; Caleb W. Wilson, aged 55 ; 
Dea. Joseph Brackett, aged 73 ; John Haven, aged 78 ; John 
Moore, aged 62 ; Polly, wife of Col. Stephen Wilson, aged 45 ; 
Lieut. Dennis Stanley, aged 64; Gen. Edwards Bucknam, aged 
72 ; Orasmus Page, son of Moses, aged 14, died in the army. 

1 8 14 — Mary, Avife of the late Jos. Brackett, aged 70. 

181 5 — Hon. R. C. Everett, aged 51 ; William Bothwell, aged 66. 

18 1 7 — Mrs. Ann Hazen, aged 83; Rachel, widow of Capt. David 
Page, aged 69. 

18 18 — Capt. John Weeks, aged 69; Daniel Howe, aged 54. 

1819 — Ephraim Mahurin, aged 78; Emmons Stockwell, aged 79; 

1820 — Mrs. Ruth Adams, wife of Andrew Adams, aged 83. 

1821 — Elisha Wilder, aged 87; Mrs. Mehitabel Wilder, aged %•]. 

1822 — Artemas Wilder, aged 48 ; Mrs. Elizabeth Hunnux, aged 6^. 

1825 — Silas Chessman, aged 84. 

1826 — John Aspinwall, aged 26; Rev. Joseph Willard, aged 66. 

1827 — Ruth Stockwell, aged 81 ; Jonas Baker, aged 74; John Bur- 
gin, aged 'j6. 

1829 — Thomas Peverly, aged 32 ; Joel Page, aged 58. 
14 



194 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

1830 — David Page, Jr., aged 85 ; David Greenlcaf, aged 80; Will- 
iam Lovejoy, aged 58. 
1832 — Andrew Adams, aged 97 ; Benjamin Boardman, aged 66. 
1835 — Bryant Stephenson, aged y6. 

1836 — John Mason, aged 59; Mrs. Bryant Stephenson, aged — . 
1837 — Charles J. Stewart, aged 46. 

1840 — S. A. Pearson, aged 56; Benjamin Stanley, aged 42. 
1841 — Coffin Moore, aged 71. 
1842 — Jonathan Twombley, aged 81. 
1843 — Ashael Going, aged 72; John Wilder, aged 80; Maj. Joel 

Hemmenway, aged 62 ; Frederick Messer, aged 70 ; Thomas 

Hodgdon, aged 86; Joanna Hays, aged 81. 
1845 — Edward Spaulding, aged 79; Thomas Carlisle, aged 64. 
1846 — Josiah Bellows, 2d, aged 72; George W. Perkins, aged 68; 

Stephen Wilson, aged 81. 
1847 — Benjamin Adams, aged 66; Adino N. Brackett, aged 70; 

Manasah Wilder, aged 78. 
1849 — Asa Wesson, aged 54; Stephen Hartford, aged 64; Widow 

Lovejoy, aged 72. 
1850 — Dea. William Farrar, aged 69; John Mclntire, aged 85; 

Joseph C. Cady, aged 46; Samuel Wentworth, aged 93. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SOME EARLY PRIVATE ACCOUNTS WITH THE TOWN. 

It will, no doubt, interest the reader to know something definite 
in regard to the early transactions of individuals with the town. 
Fortunately, among the private papers of Gen. Edwards Bucknam 
and "Governor" Page we have some of their accounts with the 
town from 1772 to 1792. These are not only curious, but they 
throw side lights upon the story of the development of the new 
community, and it is for this latter reason that we give them here. 
A new settlement must have one or more active men of a practical 
turn of mind to direct things. It happened that David Page and 
Edwards Bucknam possessed the requisite qualities for leadership. 
They both were born leaders and pioneers, and Bucknam was pos- 
sessed of an almost universal genius and able to do about anything 
that needed doing in such a new community, hence we find him 
connected with so many of the early transactions of the town. 
Page was the nominal head of the colony, which won him the hon- 
orary title of " Governor." 

In the following accounts, kept by General Bucknam, we discover 
what valuable services he rendered the little community from its 



SOME EARLY PRIVATE ACCOUNTS WITH THE TOWN. 



195 



earliest days down to a time when, as we have seen elsewhere, the 
population was much increased and capable men were compara- 
tively plenty to what they were during the first thirty years of the 
settlement. General Bucknam had served the town, both under its 
proprietary and civil managements, as clerk for twenty years. He 
was on many of its most important committees, and often commis- 
sioned to perform valuable services for the people, and for that rea- 
son his accounts are of value and interest to the student of history. 
From these accounts it will be discovered that it was in the capacity 
of town clerk, collector, and agent of the town that he performed 
most of these transactions. Not infrequently, however, he per- 
formed some humble service in making roads, surveying the lines 
of the town lands, and making long journeys to perform some ser- 
vice for the proprietors of the town. 

" The Proprietors of the Township of Lancaster to Edwards Bucknam, Dr. 

" 1772, June, To 14 days worlc at 4 sh. ..... _;^2: 16:00. 

" " , Nov. To 17 da\s work on roads at 4 sh. . . . 3:8 :oo. 

1773, May, To 9 days work at 4 sh. per day . . . . i : 6:00 
*' " , June, To 8 days work at 4 sh. " " . . . . 1:12 :oo 

1774, May, To 10^ days work at 4 sh. 
Paid Ezra Currier for work done sd road 1 772-1 773, 
Paid Moses Page for work on the road in 1 772-1 773, 
Paid Emmons Stockwell for work on sd road 1 772-1 773, 
Paid David Page Esq. for work done in 1772, 1773, 1774, 
Paid David Cross for work done on the road in 1 772-1 773, 
Paid William Marshall for work done on Marshall Bridge, and I 

have his receipts therefor ....... 



2 : 6 :oo. 
2 :i3 :oo 
3 :io :oo. 
4 :I2 :oo. 
5 : 8 :oo. 
6:15: 6. 



I :oo :oo. 



;^49: 12:00." 
To work done on the roads from the 23rd. of May 1775, to May, 1787. 



^ c- ^ { ^1 ' / Paid David Page Esq. for work on sd roads 
to Sept. 25th. ^ & M 

Paid Capt. David Page for work on roads .... 

Paid Lt. Emmons Stockwell for work on roads ) 

and have his receipts ....... ^ 

Paid Col. Jonas Wilder for work on roads . . . . . 

Brought forward ......... 

Carried forward ........ 

1778, Paid David Page Esq. Eighty-four Pounds 

which was four dollars on each right 

voted to him for building mill 
To David Page Esq. said thirty Pounds voted to him to } 
re-build the mills after being burnt . . . . ^ 

To Jacob Treadwell Paid fifteen Pounds voted by the 
Proprietors as their proportion to cutt & open the 

Road to the Eastward of the White Hills 
Brought forward 



^16:13:00 

21 :07 :oo 

7 : I : 3 

5:13:00 

13 : 6 : 2 

7: 8: 5 



71: 9: 5 
49:12:00 

• .£121: I : 5 

. ^86: 8: o. 

• i;30: o: o. 

• ^15: o- o. 

. 131 : 8: o. 
121 : I : 5. 

£252 ■■ 9- 5-" 



196 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



" 1774, To collecting one assesment of seven dollars on each right 
for 72 Rights ........ 

To one assesment of ^30 voted to David Page Esq. 
To one assesment of ^15 to cutt Marshall road at 4 sh. 3d. per 
right, collected ..... . . 

To one assesment of two dollars on each right for roads 

To one assesment of two dollars on each right for roads 

To one assesment of two dollars a Right for lotting 

To one assesment of three dollars a Right for lotting out said town 



Brought forward 



• ^5 


8 


0. 


5 


8 


0. 


5 


8 


0. 


5 


8 


00. 


5 


8: 


0. 


5 


8 


0. 


1 5 


8 


0. 


£37 


16 


0. 


252 


9: 


5- 


£^9°- 


5: 


5-" 



Carried forward 



" 1767. The Proprietors of the Township of Lancaster to Edwards Bucknam 
Dr. 

March loth. To attending their meeting at the house of David 

Page, Esq. as their clerk at 6 sh. . . . . . .^0:6:0 

To I day myself attending their meeting of Mar. 12 by adjournment, 

as clerk . . . . . . . . . . 0:6:0 

Oct. 23rd, 1772, To niNself going from Hampton to Portsmouth to 
advertise a Proprietors' meeting, 35 miles, three days myself 
& horse & expenses . . . . . . • . 1:4:0 

To paying of the Printer for printing ye Warrants . . . 0:18: o 

1773 y^ \ To myself one day attending the Proprietois' meeting as 

June 8 \ clerk . . . . . . . . . 0:6:0 

1773 
August 26 



To myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 



£r- 6 



^ , > To one day attending their meeting 

May. To i Day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 
June. To i Day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 
Aug. loth. To I Day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 

A' ^ > To I day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk . 

1780 
Apl. 4th. 

1783 

Oct. 14th. 

1785 

Feb. 25th. 

Aug. 1 8th. To I day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 

^ , S To I day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 

June 20th. To h day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 
Nov. 20. To h day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 

^ ' ^v / To h. day m3'self attending Propr. meeting as clerk 

Dec. 25th. To h day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 

\' . > To i day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 
Jan 1st. ^ ■' ■' 01 o 



To I day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 
To I day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 
To I day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk 



o : 6 : o. 

o : 6 : o. 

o : 6 : o. 

o : 6 : o. 

o : 6 : o. 

o : 6 : o. 

o : 6 : o. 



SOME EARLY PRIVATE ACCOUNTS WITH THE TOWN. 



197 



June. To i day myself attending Propr. meeting as clerk . . ^o : 3: o. 

1780. > To myself & horse three days going from Hampstead to 
Feb. ^ Exeter & to Col. Thornton to git him to call a Propr. 

meeting for the Proprs. of Lancaster & my expenses to paying 
Col. Thornton . . . . . . . . . 0:6:6. 

PI > To one Bound Book to Recording the Proprs. Proceedings o:io: o. 



Brot Forward in Silver 



£300: 7: S. 



"July 2d. 1790. Settled the above acct : and Due to the Pro- 
prietors of Lancaster from Edwards Bucknam Esq. as Collector 
Eighteen Pounds, Sixteen Shillings and four jjence-half-penny. 

Jonas Wilder ^ Committee of the 

Emmons Stockwell > Proprietors of 
John Weeks _) Lancaster." 

On the above settlement the following receipt, in the handwriting of Capt. 
John Weeks, was given Bucknam : 

" Lancaster July 2nd. 1790, 
" Received of Edwards Bucknam Esqr. Three hundred and Ninety pounds, 
twelve shillings in full of all Demand against him and against the late David Page 
Esqr : deceased as Collectors of Taxes for the Township of Lancaster Excepting 
Eighteen pounds. Sixteen shillings and four pence-half-penny which sum the said 
Bucknam is now Indebted to the Proprietors of said Lancaster as Collector for 
said Proprietors. 

Jonas Wilder \ Committee of the 

Emmons Stockwell > Proprietors of 
John Weeks j Lancaster." 

" 1790 > The Proprietors of the Township of Lancaster to Ed- 
July gth. ^ wards Bucknam, Dr. 

To 5 days myself serveying in running the Town plot Planing the 
same into 74 lots & assertaining the quantity of undivided Land 
in said Town at 12 sh. per day 

To 3 men i day with me at 5 sh. 6 d. per day 

To myself 3 days surveying at 12 sh. . 

To myself 6 days at surveying at 12 sh. 

To 3 men 6 days with me surveying at 5 sh. 6d. . 

Paid to Moses Page for work in linding hands with th 
days at 5 sh. 6d. • . . . . 

Due Bill by the committee ..... 

Do Do Capt. Weeks .... 

Paid Jonas Baker acct. ..... 

Do Dennis Stanley finding hands with surveyor , 

Paid Emmons Stockwell account with surveyor 

Paid Col. Jonas Wilder acct. with surveyor . 

T^ > To paying I2sh. for Coppy of ye Charter 



We do not find any account of the settlement of this last account 
among the private papers of General Bucknam, and as the Proprie- 



• £3 





0. 





16 


6. 


I 


16 


0. 


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19 


0. 


e surveyor 5 






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4 


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9 





0. 


• 33 


2 


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12 


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£62: 


5: 


6." 



198 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



tors' Records have been lost we have no source of information ; but it 
was probably settled as other accounts of Bucknam's were. 

General Bucknam was one of the administrators of the will of David 
•Page, and the later's private accounts fell into the hands of Buck- 
nam, and they have been preserved along with his papers. Among 
them we find this account with the town : 



" David Page's account with the Proprietors for the work done. 

" Lancaster June 26th. i 

" To one days and half work 

Nov. 1772 to Four days work 

December Eight days 

April 1773 Two days 

to work Fourteen days and half 

To work three days and half 

To work Four days 

To two days 

To Clearin the River . 
November 1773 to five days and half 
February 1773 three days work 
April 1773 Five days work . 

to three days and half . 

to work Four days 

to two days at Samuells 

to four days man . 

May 30 to John one day 

June 2 day three and half same 
May 1774 to work at the highways 12 days 



774- 



CHAPTER XVII. 



£0 


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8 


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18 


o- 





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^15: 8: 6.' 



THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS— RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS, 
MUSTERS, AND RAISINGS. 

In the early days of Lancaster Christmas was not observed ex- 
cept in the breach of the rule for its observance. The Puritans had 
condemned it as savoring too much of Popery, or at least as under 
the patronage of the church of England, both of which were odious 
to them. The people here were influenced by the conservative no- 
tions of their ancestors in these matters, and this holiday, now so 
universally observed was neglected until about 1875. In this respect 
there is nothing for us to chronicle in Lancaster that was not com- 
mon in almost all New England villages. There were a few men, 
however, who did make some account of Christmas, chief among 
whom was Captain John Weeks. He never failed to call around 
him his family and friends to partake of roast goose on Christmas 
day. 



THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS. 199 

Fast day had not lost its original sigi^ificance and taken a new mean- 
ing as it later did. It was observed with a good conscience. From 
the rise of the sun to its going down not a morsel of food did any 
one dare to take. This strictness was not peculiar to devout and 
religious people, but all shared in it alike. It was the one day of 
the whole year when the conduct of saint and sinner did not differ. 

There came a time, about the beginning of the present century, 
when the strictness of Fast day observance began to relinquish its 
hold upon a portion of the community. With a settled state of 
peace and prosperity, when no foreign foe seemed to be lurking 
about our borders, and prosperity had come to the country, there 
seemed less reason for fasting, and more reason for feasting. Thanks- 
giving day grew more important from year to year until it had sup- 
planted Fast day in interest for the masses. Fast day began to be 
used for an occasion of amusement. The older people took it more 
as a day of rest, a brief respite from the heavy and prolonged labors 
common in the life of the early times, while the young men and 
boys, with a surplus of energy to put into motion made it an occa- 
sion for horseback riding. It came at a season when the roads were 
in that condition, the older people were accustomed to call, " be- 
tween sleighing and wheeling." In fact wheeled vehicles were scarce 
at the time, and as the sleigh was no source of comfort in the mixture 
of snow and mud that usually characterizes the roads on that day, 
they naturally took to horseback riding. This practice was continued 
so long that it gained that force of custom which makes a thing 
respectable in the eyes of those who participate in it. If the men 
and women of a century ago could see a troop of small boys dash- 
ing up Main street at a break-neck speed, and on reaching the end 
of the street wheel round and dash off in the opposite direction, 
repeating the process for hours, on the Fast day of to-day, they 
would think it a most oudandish desecration of the day. But the 
day has lost its original meaning, as nobody now believes that he 
should "mortify the flesh" to win the favor of God. We have come 
to think that God is pledged to the help of all his creatures in the 
right. We know now that we must think, and put ourselves in right 
attitudes to enjoy the favor of the All Father. We do not regret 
that civic Fast days are no longer kept as our ancestors kept them, 
but that they have become seasons of amusement. 

Our modern Memorial day, May 30th, has become the patriot's 
day of remembrance of national and individual obligations. 

Memorial day was first observed in Lancaster in 1869. As the 
day for its observance fell on Sunday the clergy and churches were 
not at all in sympathy with it, nor did either take part in the observ- 
ances. The old soldiers were determined, however, to do honor to 
the memory of the comrades who had fallen in battle at their sides, 



200 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

or by disease in camp or on the march. As they appeared upon the 
streets with banner and music the sight appealed at once to pubhc 
spirit and sympathy and the people followed them to the graves 
of loved and honored dead. Since then the clergy and churches 
have been in most hearty accord with the veterans in this most 
becoming memorial of our deceased soldiers. 

Lancaster was one of the first towns in the northefti part of the 
state and adjoining parts of the "north country" to make public ap- 
propriations for the fit observance of Memorial day, and has always 
been very liberal in its support of Memorial day observances. 

Thanksgiving day was the great day that every boy was glad to 
see come, as it meant feasting and the reunion of families ; and youth 
and maiden hailed it as the day that flooded their lives with sun- 
light, joy, and love. Not infrequently the day was preceded by 
dancing, as the evening before Thanksgiving and New Year were set 
apart to that amusement into which the young people of every com- 
munity entered with zest. 

This holiday has changed less, perhaps, than any other on the 
calendar. To-day the people spend it as their ancestors did a hun- 
dred years ago, in feasting and family reunions. Thanksgiving does 
not exceed Christmas to-day as a holiday. Everybody keeps Christ- 
mas, though business is not entirely suspended as on Thanksgiving 
day. 

The holidays of the early settlers that gave everybody the chance 
to give way to the spirit of mirth and merry-making were the muster 
da)^s. The general muster and the May and fall trainings were 
the most important holidays. These were the days of all days that 
brought the people together for a real hearty time. It gave the boys 
a chance to see the men muster, and the }'outh of eighteen years 
was included among the men, as the militia requirements included 
all males between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. These the 
captain of the company notified to appear at such time and place as 
seemed most suitable. The law required every man to appear at 
the training grounds "armed and equipped with a musket and bayonet 
in good condition, knapsack, canteen, cartridge box, capable of hold- 
ing twenty-four rounds of ammunition, priming wire and brush, and 
two spare flints." 

It was a custom to approach the officers' quarters before sunrise, 
and by firing of guns, beating of drums, and other vociferous dem- 
onstrations, " wake them up," and call for a speech, which was 
always supposed to be closed promptly for the first " ration of 
grog." In this the militia were never disappointed, for rum was 
considered as much a necessity at a training as powder was in a 
battle. Without those potations, a muster or training would have 
been a tame, perfunctory, and spiritless performance of duty. 



THE OLU-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS. 201 

The rudiments of military exercise were quite well understood by 
the men and boys, but the exercises were not of the polished and 
precise order that the many old soldiers about town had seen in 
actual service in the War of the Revolution and the War of 1812. 
It is remembered that some of those old veterans could but illy con- 
ceal their contempt for the whole performance, and we need not 
wonder that a training in a country village, removed by hundreds of 
miles from the scenes of war, should seem a sort of boy's play to men 
who had seen service under some of the best military disciplinarians 
of our two wars with Great Britain. That we give a better impression 
of the early drills, I will insert here a military announcement that 
went the rounds in 1799, and a "manual of arms" used at that 

time : 

" Hanover, New Hampshire, 

" 27th. June, 1799. 
" Brigadier Genl. Bucknam, 
"Sir: 

" Major General Brewster is informed, by a communication from His Excel- 
lency Governor Gilman, of his intention to review the 2nd Division of Militia, in 
the Month of September next. If agreable it is the Major General's wish that 
you would attend a meeting of the Field Officers of some of the Regiments in 
your Brigade (to whom notice will be given by the Major General) at the dwell- 
ing house of Major Joseph Bliss in Haverhill on Monday the fifteenth day of July 
next, at two o'clock afternoon, to concert the most proper measures to advance 
the respectability of the Grafton militia on the occasion. A general review of as 
many regiments as it may be practicable to convene together is contemplated. It 
is a favorite object with the Major General that the Sixth Brigade, which he has 
lately had the honor of commanding, as their Brigadier, should at the Review 
make a display of as great taste and knowledge in military art as any other corps 
in the State of New Hampshire. 

«' By order of Major General Brewster, 

" Wm. Woodward, Aid de Camp. 

"P. S. Be so kind as to inform the field officers of the twenty-fourth regi- 
ment of the meeting and request their attendance. \V. W." 

The following " manual of arms," in the handwriting of General 
Bucknam, though it bears no date or other mark by which we can 
be certain of the fact, was, no doubt, prepared for this or similar 
occasions, when it was desired that his brigade should make a good 
appearance in the muster or review. It ran as follows : 

1 1 . Draw Rammer. 

12. Ram down cartrage. 

13. Return Rammer. 

14. Shoulder firelock. 

15. Order firelock. 

16. Ground firelock. 

17. Take up firelock. 

18. Shoulder firelock. 

19. Secure firelock. 

20. Shoulder firelock. 



' I . 


Attention. 


2 . 


Raise firelock. 


3- 


Cock firelock. 


4- 


Take aim. 


5- 


Fire. 


6. 


Half cock firelock. 


7- 


Handle cartrage. 


8. 


Prime. 


9- 


Shut pan. 


10. 


Cliarge with cartrage. 



202 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

21. Fix Bayonet. 25. Charge Bayonet. 

22. Shoulder firelock. 26. Shoulder firelock. 

23. Present arms. 27. Advance arms. 

24. Shoulder firelock. 28. Shoulder firelock." 

Having gone through these evolutions in the " manual of arms," 
the instructions of the manual continues : 

. "The Colonel then commands by Platoons to the right Wheel march, the 

whole wheel by platoons to the right and march by the General, the Colonel at 
the head of the Batahon with the Major behind him followed by the Drums of the 
Right Wing the Adjutant on the left of the fifth platoon. 

" The officers and colors salute when within eight paces of the General and the 
Colonel having saluted advances to him." 

" Inspection of batalion : 

"After having been reviewed, the officers fall into the ranks, the colonel then 
orders By Companies to the Right Wheel, march — a quater round then halt, 

when Captain orders non-comiccioned officers to the front march the officers 

take post 4 paces & non-commissioned 2 paces in front of their Companies 

the whole when the General is within 30 paces order Present Arms. When ye 
General arives on the left then the Colonel orders Shoulder Firelocks. 

" The Inspector begins on ye right with ye field & staff officers & inspects the 
companies and when inspection is over the Colonel forms the batalion and causes 
any exercises or manoevre the Inspector shall think proper." 

The old soldiers, the remnants of noted armies, were the leaven 
that leavened the whole mass, for the citizen-militia took great pains 
to imitate their military carriage and manners. Poor as the militia 
training must have been, one can yet, at this late day, tell who had 
the good fortune to share in its advantages, for it had great advan- 
tages. There is a remnant of the old-timers left who profited by 
the training of those musters, and they show it in their bearing and 
manners, that are above those of the younger generation in point of 
elegance. It would be well if the young men of to-day could have 
some such training. It would relieve them of much awkwardness 
that is characteristic of the movements of the younger men of our 
day. In the graded and well-managed schools of the cities and 
larger villages this is partly made up by a system of drills that, 
while they are not in accordance with military discipline, are yet 
beneficial in correcting the faults of bearing and manner, and teach 
a boy how to use his legs in an orderly fashion. It is to be regret- 
ted that our system of public education does not make a greater 
effort at training the youth to bear themselves in better form than 
they drift into if left to their own unguided habits. 

In the autumn came the half day of drills, but the great day was 
that of the general muster. The only regiment of the section was 
the old Twenty-fourth, which for a long time was enrolled from the 
whole of Coos county, giving a well-selected quota of men of good 
bearing in the ranks. The only "Independent Company" was the 



THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS. 203 

troop. This company was a well-mounted one; the men were good 
riders, and at one time numbered as many as forty horsemen. Their 
uniforms were quite imposing, consisting of black trowsers, red coats 
with black trimmings, helmets of leather with scarlet sides and red 
plumes eight inches long standing erect, with bear skin trimmings 
extending from the front over the tops of the caps, while yellow 
bands and gorgeous tassels dangled over their backs. Their arms 
consisted of long sabres, a pair of "horse pistles " in holsters cov- 
ered with bear skin. 

The most popular commanders of this company were Captains 
Thomas Carlisle, Charles Hilliard, and John Loomis. There were 
several other persons who shared in the honor and distinction of the 
command of this noted company, but these I have named were the 
notables among them all. 

This company took the leading part in all the manoeuvres and 
sham fights which invariably closed a regimental muster. They 
bravely charged against the infantry squares, discharging their pis- 
tols and retreating as the manual called for. For this performance 
a good horse was an important factor. The horses differed as much 
as the men. Some of the horses used in the troop were remarka- 
ble for the intelligent spirit with which they entered into the duties 
of the occasion. Most notable among them was a large, black 
horse with a white face, that Maj. John Weeks brought from the 
army at the close of the War of 18 12, and which was always in 
demand at the musters. He was a fine beast, with a high step and 
proud manner. When dressed in his regimental trappings, he mani- 
fested great pride and seemed to know his part as well as his rider, 
and not infrequently, it seemed, he knew it a little better than his 
rider. This animal was used in several regiments, being passed 
from one to another for some years. 

In 1823 an artillery company was formed, with John Wilson as 
captain, and in 1828 Capt. Perley Foster settled in Whitefield, and 
military organizations and activities at once revived. He was a 
great religious and military enthusiast. He had been in the regular 
army, and managed a gun on McDonough's fleet in the battle on 
Lake Champlain. This service gave Captain Foster great prestige 
among the military spirits of his time. He soon organized a rifle 
company, the ofificers of which were Capt. Perley Foster ; Henry 
Fiske, lieutenant; Thomas H. Kimball, ensign. The uniform of 
this company consisted of blue coats richly embellished with bright 
metal buttons, tall bell-crowned fur hats, with shining metallic plates 
in front and white plumes of liberal size with red tips, and gaiters of 
the same colors as the head-gear. This company soon became very 
popular with the people. Among the boys who drank in all this 
inspiration and military glory from the standpoint of lookers-on^ 



204 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

was Captain Foster's own son, who won great distinction in the late 
War of the RebelHon — Maj. and Maj.-Gen. John G. Foster. 

One who saw those musters can never forget the joy it gave the 
boys to see their fathers, uncles, and sometimes older brothers, 
deport themselves creditably on the training-field, and win the 
applause of their neighbors — the old men, women, and children. 

One of the old-time stones told, is that of the muster held here in 
1845, on H. F. Holton's plain. Gen. R. M. Richardson commanding. 
A company of infantry, sometimes called "flood wood," from an 
adjacent town, appeared, and were without musical escort, so the 
captain applied to Allen Smith, an 18 12 drummer, and Stephen 
Hayes, a veteran fifer, for the occasion. As this company appeared 
on the field, these old veterans struck up the " Rogue's March," and 
the company was placed in line. Anything that was music was 
good, and as no one of the company knew much about different 
tunes, it passed off well until the captain was told how he and his 
men came on the field. "Thunder! " said the captain, "I supposed 
it was Hail Columbia." The band hid immediately. 

All this may look to the younger generation of our day as the 
glory of a child's play with his " tin soldiers," but not so, as the 
sequel will show. There came an evil day when, through the mis- 
taken greed of a few men, the state was induced to pay for the ser- 
vice rendered on the training field. The true military spirit that 
had moved the men of the early days to such a wonderful degree 
began to decline, and the paid service was rather looked down upon 
as a sort of mercenary chance to earn a small fee. The pride and 
glory of the old-time musters and trainings passed away, and left 
the people no adequate compensation for the care they had exer- 
cised all those years to keep a class of citizen soldiers in proper 
training. I do not question the superior organization of the militia 
under the later arrangement, but it removed it too far from the peo- 
ple. The new order of militia no longer interested the masses, giv- 
ing pleasure to the men and nothing less than unbounded joy to the 
boys, as the old system did. Its glory had departed, and the pleas- 
ures it afforded to old and young has become a memor)' only. 

The decline of the musters and trainings did not leave the people 
without a holiday or day of recreation, for the "raisings" took the 
place, in a large measure, of the day of amusement afforded by the 
musters. The raising of a large building in early times was no 
small affair. To raise the heavy hewn frames called for all the able- 
bodied men in the neighborhood, for the builders had to rely on 
them for help. The frames were generally very heavy, as the sills, 
plates, posts, and beams were seldom less than eight inches square, 
and of solid timbers. If the building was to be a large one, it 
would require upwards of fifty men to raise it. Accordingly the 



THE OLD-FASHIONED HOLIDAYS. 205 

requisite number would be invited, and that gave the boys a holi- 
day. Every boy for miles went to the raising to which the men of 
his family were invited ; they felt entitled to that much pleasure, at 
least, to see the building go up. Whether they were permitted to 
partake of the dinners provided on such occasions for the workmen, 
and the potations that were considered an indispensable article at 
raisings, my information does not warrant me in stating, farther than 
that almost any boy could be useful on such an occasion in some 
capacity when he was counted a worker among the company. If 
he were not large enough and industrious and curious enough to 
carry water for the crowd, carry tools to the workmen, or run 
errands, then we are not so sure about his prestige and standing. 
He probably stood afar off with open-mouthed wonder at the ope- 
rations going on before his sight. It may well be counted a misfor- 
tune to any one who has never been a boy at a raising, first as an 
on-looker, then as actor in some humble capacity, as the carrying 
of the water-pail or handing the tools to the busy workmen, and, 
finally, taking a man's part in the more responsible parts of the ope- 
ration, an experience the younger generation knows nothing of. 

When invitations were extended to man or boy to attend a rais- 
ing, it was in good faith, and no one thought of treating such an 
invitation with any slight whatever, as he would be expected to be 
present or give some plausible excuse for his absence. When all 
hands were present on the grounds, a friendly drink was taken, and 
then the business was proceeded with in the following fashion : 

First the two sides of the structure were put together on the sills 
and underpinnings and securely pinned in the joints. Long poles 
called, in the vernacular of the trade, " follerin poles," were chained 
to the upper and outside corners. The next step, generally, was to 
stop and take another drink preparatory to the tug of war that was 
coming. This feature of the business being attended to, and all 
being in perfect readiness, the master workman distributes the men 
at such places in which he thinks they can best serve. The oldest and 
most trusty men were assigned to the task of tending the foot posts, 
to guide the tennon into the mortice as the framed side rises serenely 
in the air, The master workman now took a position from which he 
could see all his men, and from which all could see him as he gave 
orders. He called out in lusty and commanding tones, " Are you 
all ready?" When all had responded affirmatively to the question, 
he commanded, " Pick 'er up," in response to which every man laid 
out his strength to comply with the command. The frame was 
lifted as high as men could lift by hand, when handspikes and pike- 
poles were brought into use. The master workman next called out, 
" Heave at the follerin-poles." The " foUerin-poles " having been 
duly " heaved on," the frame was raised until the tennons sank home 



206 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

in the mortices, and the whole side reached a perpendicular position. 
It was then securely fastened by temporary braces and stays. The 
second side went up after the same manner as the first, after which 
•' all hands took another drink," and had a short breathing spell. 
They next proceeded with ends, and middle timbers of the frame, in 
the same manner as with the sides. At this point a situation of 
affairs was reached in which the courage and agility of the more 
venturesome and level-headed young men could show off their skill 
to great advantage. Some one was needed to mount to the corners 
and guide the tennons into the mortices and pin them together. This 
task generally fell to the lot of apprentices at the carpenter's trade, 
or the carpenter's assistants, called joiners and finishers, or in the 
absence of such, to some young man possessed of the requisite 
courage and skill for a task so far above ground. 

Once the body of the frame was up, and the beams in place, the 
next step was that of placing the rafters in position, a pair at a time, 
when they would be securely pinned. This done, the work of pin- 
ning the ribs to which the shingles were to be fastened was divided 
between two forces that strove for the privilege of placing the ridge- 
pole, which privilege belonged to the party that got their ribs on 
first. This was the finishing touch of a raising, the last thing the 
assembled crowd could do for the building. The time for merri- 
ment had come. Although many drinks had been indulged in up 
to that point, nobody would be drunk, just a little jolly, with once in 
a while one a little hilarious. 

Hon. James W. Weeks gives the following account of this kind of 
ceremony. It was a large barn on the place of Asahel Allen, where 
Phineas Hodgdon now lives, that was raised and to be " named " : 

"The Southend of the frame stood ten or twelve feet from where 
Allen afterward had his cooper shop for making pearl-ash barrels, 
so that the ridge-pole at that end of the building must have been 
fully forty feet high. Two men, one at each end of the frame, clam- 
bered to the ridge-pole, bottle in hand, and on reaching the top or 
ridge, stood erect. The one at the south end called out, 'This is a 
fine frame and deserves a good name.' All hands responded, 
' Oh, yes ! Oh, yes ! ' and 'What shall we call it?' The man on the 
north end of the ridge responded by giving a high-sounding name, 
upon which the man at the other end, James Meserve, once a sailor, 
responded, ' Oh, yes ! ' and proceeded to recite some doggerel verse 
that ended in these lines : 

' The owner is a cooper, a jolly old soul, 
We 11 drink all his rum, but leave the ridge-pole.' 

" Standing erect, they drained, each one, his bottle, while all 
hands below cheered in the loudest tones. All took another drink, 
and the raising was over, every man started for his home. So ended 
the old-fashioned raisings." 



TEMPERANCE ORGANIZATIONS. 20/ 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

TEMPERANCE ORGANIZATIONS. 

Sixty years ago there were no temperance organizations, and 
little was said or done in the way of agitating what we call the tem- 
perance question to-day. In fact, it may be doubted if the people 
of that time had any questions ov^er the drink habit. About every- 
body drank New England, or West India, rum, and kept a little 
brandy in the house for special occasions, as in times of sickness, 
marriages, births, funerals, and the visits of the minister. The 
laborers in the field had their dram at eleven, and again at four 
o'clock, and thought it sustained their flagging energies against the 
excessive toils incident to pioneer life. 

With all this habitua-l drinking, the people of the town could not 
be called drunkards. It was extremely rare for one of those old- 
time fellows to become what they called a " toper," or what we now 
call a drunkard. Every family kept a supply of rum, which was 
considered as much of a necessity as bread. Those who could 
afford it generally laid in at once enough to last through the year. 
If one expected to have a log house, or a frame one, or a " clearing 
bee," during the course of the year he must have some rum to treat 
his neighbors properly. The most casual caller would expect some- 
thing set out to drink, and he who did not comply with that custom 
was considered by his friends and neighbors as too " close-fisted and 
stingy" to be respectable. If on any occasion any one imbibed too 
freely and became drunk or disorderly, he was scorned by his 
neighbors, and his sin was rebuked by his minister. These habits 
were deeply imbedded in the social life of this, as other New Eng- 
land communities. 

When grave offences were committed against law, public senti- 
ment, or morality, the fact was not then, as now, charged to the 
drink habit. The quantity of alcohol in their drinks was not very 
great, and then the rugged, out-door life they led did not make 
them such ready victims to its ravages as are the victims of drink at 
the present time. There is a superstition or tradition that the liquor 
was purer then than now ; but that was only relatively true. It is 
true that there was much less adulterated liquor used then than now. 
But that it was purer than the same article that is made to-day, is 
not true. It is very true that the alcohol in the liquor of to-day, 
that is procured in dram-shops, is not as injurious as are the adul- 
terants that are put into it to increase the profits to the venders. 

Whisky was not much used, and but little known, in Lancaster 
until about 1815, when its manufacture from potatoes was com- 
menced. Even then it was not regarded as fit for use, but was 



208 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

shipped off to trade for other commodities. It was of such a fiery 
nature as to literally burn the throat of the drinker, and no one 
cared for it save as a source of revenue or gain. 

Up to 1845 there had never been known a case of delirium 
tremens in town. Some years previous to that date drinks contain- 
ing larger proportions of alcohol, and also adulterated drinks, had 
produced a number of drunkards, some of whom suffered from 
delirium tremens about the middle of the present century. As this 
condition of affairs became somewhat common, a number of ladies 
began to make a move to induce the men to take the pledge to 
abstain from intoxicating drinks. This was not an organized move- 
ment at first, but after a few years it opened the way for the estab- 
lishment of a " Total Abstinence Society," under the auspices of 
w^hich meetings were held about town in the schoolhouses. As is 
the case in such movements the pledge was signed chiefly by 
women and children who of all classes least needed the reform. It 
no doubt did the boys good to pledge themselves against drinking; 
but the men most addicted to the evil habit were not easily induced 
to make so strong a resolve as to quit drinking rum and gin. The 
movement had some good results in creating a public sentiment 
against drunkenness. Even habitual drinkers began to leave off 
drink to some extent. They would fall back into the old habit on 
holidays, town-meetings, musters, and other occasions. The men 
of Lancaster who had been convinced that drink was a serious evil 
began to moderate their habits rather than abstain from the use of 
liquor altogether. 

The legislature in 1791 passed a law entitled "An act to regulate 
licensed houses," which remained in force until far into the present 
century. It provided that no person should carry on the calling of 
" taverner or retailer " of liquors without a license procured from 
the selectmen of the town. A violation of this feature of the law 
subjected the offender to a fine of forty shillings, and any one could 
sue for the same and recover for himself half the fine, the other half 
going to the county. Such license had to be duly recorded in the 
town records. 

A license could only be issued for a term of one year. The law 
provided that no taverner should suffer any of the inhabitants of the 
town to remain in his house tippling after nine o'clock p. m., or on 
the Sabbath, nor at any time to drunkenness, nor should he sell to 
minors, or servants, without their parent's or master's consent. He 
should not allow any gaming of any kind to be conducted in his 
house or on his premises. The retailer was not allowed to sell any 
mixed drinks of any kind in less quantity than one pint, and that 
was not to be allowed to be drunk on his premises. All these 
provisions were backed up by fines ranging from twenty to forty 



TEMPERANCE ORGANIZATIONS. 209 

shillings for each and every offence. In the main they were lived 
up to by the taverners and store-keepers. I cannot learn that any 
of them ever violated these provisions in this town. 

One finds many such licenses recorded on the town records. 
They were granted to many of the leading citizens of the town, 
including the names of Emmons Stockwell, Fortunatus Eager, 
Edwards Bucknam, Jonas Wilder, Richard C. Everett, Sylvanus 
Chessman, Stephen Wilson, Artemas Wilder, Jr., John Toscan, 
Jonathan Carlton, Thomas Carlisle & Co., Benjamin Hunking, 
Francis and John Wilson, William and Noyes Dennison, Charles 
Baker, Benjamin C. Stevens, Ephraim Mahurin, Samuel White, and 
many others less known to history than they, but all keeping their 
transactions within the bound prescribed by law. Most of them 
were simply retailers of it as an article of trade in their stores, where 
it was as much an article of barter and trade as any other, and sub- 
jected the dealer to no odium or condemnation as he did not allow 
it to be consumed in his place of business. This line of trafftc, how- 
ever, was destined to suffer a great change. When the " Washing- 
tonian Movement " reached Lancaster about 1845, with its battle- 
cry of " moral suasion," the stores began to give up the trade in 
liquors until in a few years it was left wholly to the taverns. The 
farmers still kept their supplies in their cellars to be used at 
the annual " butcherings, sheep-washings, sheep-shearings, and in 
haying." 

About this time the churches began to take active measures 
against intemperance. The Orthodox Congregational church, 
formed in 1836 by seceders from the First Congregational church, 
had pledged themselves in their church covenant not to use dis- 
tilled liquors, except as medicine. No church, however, had been 
active in preaching against intemperance openly as a specific evil. 
The Washingtonian movement was organized, and for some years 
did much good in counteracting the evil of intemperance. As a 
sort of offset to the temperance movement there sprung up a habit 
of brewing so-called " health drinks." Among these were spruce 
beer and birch beer. The " brewing day," in the spring of the 
year, was one of much importance. The tender twigs of spruce, 
alder bark, and tags (the catkins), wild cherry bark, mountain ash 
bark, princess pine, dandelion roots, and various other roots and 
barks, that might be thought to possess flavoring or medicinal 
qualities, were sometimes added. This medley of roots and barks 
were boiled and the liquid strained off and allowed to "work." 
This was the spring and summer tonic of many of the best families 
in town. This stuff was no better than some of the drinks the 
people had been persuaded to give up. It cultivated an appetite 
for stronger stimulants much more effectively than it "strengthened" 
15 



210 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the users of it. Even this form of drink did not escape the hearty 
denunciations of the Washingtonians. 

From 1845, down to within a few years, many temperance organ- 
izations were instituted, as we have shown elsewhere, all of which 
have contributed to the development of a sound public sentiment 
against intemperance. 

The public action of the town in relation to the matter are of 
interest to the student of social affairs. In the very early years 
grog was furnished at the expense of the town in connection with 
labor performed on the highways, bridges, and other public enter- 
prises. On one occasion when there were some logs drifted against 
or into the bridge over the Connecticut river, the town voted to 
authorize Sylvanus Chessman to notify the people to haul them off, 
and at the completion of the job give them a drink of grog at the 
expense of the town; and again in 1805, when the bridge over 
Isreals river was torn down to give place to a new one, the town 
voted to invite men enough to do the work with no other compen- 
sation than the liquor they needed to drink while engaged at the 
work. In 1830 sentiment had so changed that the town voted that 
no part of the money voted for highways should be spent for spirit- 
uous liquors. 

In 1846 there was an article in the warrant for the annual town- 
meeting, asking whether the town would instruct the selectmen not 
to grant any licenses for the sale of liquors. The measure was de- 
ferred by a vote to postpone action ; but the postponement was 
only for a year as at the next annual meeting a vote was had upon 
the question whether " it was expedient to prohibit the license and 
sale of liquor and spirits." Sixty-seven votes were given in the 
afifirmative, and seventy-eight in the negative. This was not, how- 
ever, a full vote. Many persons did not vote at all, as is shown by 
the fact that the vote for governor at the same meeting was three 
hundred and thirty-five, or one hundred and ninety more than all 
the votes cast on the license question. 

Maine had her prohibitory law, and the subject of prohibiting the 
sale of liquors as the surest means of preventing drunkenness was 
gaining ground with the people. The discussion of the subject 
drew nearly all the people into the expression of their opinions, and 
of course there was little to be said in favor of the liquor traffic, and 
nothing in favor of the use of alcoholic drinks, so public sentiment 
grew stronger with the passing years, until at the annual town-meet- 
ing of 1 85 1, it was voted not to license taverns or stores to sell 
liquor. This was done under the old local option law, which has 
later given place on the statute books to a law that is prohibitory in 
its aims. 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 211 

CHAPTER XIX. 
POLITICAL HISTORY. 

Lancaster from a very early period has held a prominent place in 
the political history of the state. Its earliest settlers were men from 
the older towns in the neighborhood of the seat of government, and 
naturally they were interested in the affairs of state. They had, 
from their youth, been in close contact with the leading politicians 
and statesmen of New Hampshire and New England. Very natur- 
ally when they had become the prominent men of a new town they 
continued to feel their former interest in the important questions of 
state somewhat intensified by the consciousness of added responsi- 
bilities as the leaders of the new town. 

No political questions of any great magnitude affected Lancaster 
until after the close of the Revolutionary War. Previous to that 
time the questions that challenged their attention and interests had 
been one-sided questions, like those of defence against the Indians, 
French, and British, and the Vermont Controversy. Those were 
simply business affairs that did not require party action. The peo- 
ple comprised a unit on all issues involved in them ; and once they 
were settled the people were free to give their attention to the 
weightier matters of the policy of the general and the state govern- 
ments. 

Though far removed from the scenes of party contest that went 
on in the towns along the seaboard, the men of Lancaster were 
neither ignorant nor indifferent concerning the state government. 

The first action taken on any political measure in Lancaster was 
at the annual town-meeting of 1783, after Meshech Weare had been 
elected president of the provisional government that preceded the 
adoption of the constitution of 1784. Much dissatisfaction with the 
government existed in some parts of the state. Lancaster, however, 
was satisfied with the form of government and voted unanimously, 
" That the present form of government now in force in this state be 
continued in full force until the loth day of June, 1784." There 
were but six votes cast at that time, but they were all in favor of 
the government as it then existed. 

In the warrant for the annual meeting of 1784, every voter who 
paid taxes was notified to bring in a vote for president of the state, 
and a senator. Weare received eight votes, all that were cast, for 
president, and Moses Dow the same number for senator. In 1785, 
the thirteen votes of the town were cast for John Langdon for presi- 
dent. In 1786 there were eleven votes cast for George Atkinson 
for president, and the same number for Moses Dow for senator. 
The same number of votes were cast for the Grafton county officers. 



212 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

maintaining the town's habit of voting unanimously for all candi- 
dates. In their devotion to Atkinson they threw their votes away 
as he only received a few hundred of the whole vote of the state, 
which was eight thousand. His votes were reckoned among " eight 
hundred scattering " in the election returns. Just what was Lan- 
caster's reason for voting for so unpopular a candidate we do not 
know. He must have numbered some of the leaders here among 
his personal friends to have carried the entire vote of the town. 
Then, too, such events seem to indicate that a few men must have 
practically controlled the majority of the voters in town. There 
seems to have been little use of the names of the great political 
parties of the time, for they are not mentioned in any public or 
private documents of that time. We find, however, the use of other 
terms that indicate pretty well how public opinion ran here. In 
the record of the vote for state officers in 1787 the town clerk, Gen. 
Edwards Bucknam, says: "Twenty votes were cast, and were 
divided by political candidates. Twelve friends to popular rights, 
however, prevailed." Gen. John Sullivan, the Federalist candidate, 
received the votes of the "twelve friends of popular rights." 
Whether the eight voters who voted against General Sullivan should 
be counted as anti-Federalists we have no assurance. A time had 
come, however, when an intense party spirit was to characterize the 
voting in Lancaster. The formation of the constitution of the 
national government was to bring that document before the people 
for adoption. The election of the state government, that was to 
vote upon the Constitution of the United States in 1788, was one of 
the most important matters that had ever engaged the attention of 
our local politicians and embryo statesmen. Six states had already 
adopted the constitution, and others were to act about the same 
time that New Hampshire would, which made it a matter of great 
importance whether the friends or the foes of the constitution should 
win. A few hundred votes might turn the scale one way or the 
other. Langdon and Sullivan were candidates for president, and 
divided the vote nearly even. There were only thirteen votes cast 
that year. Sullivan received six, while his competitor received 
seven. 

Later, in the same year, when the first election for members of 
congress occurred, the votes, twenty-seven in all, were divided as 
follows: Samuel Livermore, eight; Benjamin Bellows, eight; Elisha 
Paine, two ; Christopher Toppan, one ; Paine Wingate, one ; John 
Pickering, one, and Simon Olcott, six. For presidential electors the 
vote stood as follows: Beza Woodward, eight; Benjamin West, 
nine; Elisha Paine, eight ; Woodbury Langdon, nine; Christopher 
Toppan, eight; Moses Dow, two, and Samuel Livermore, one. 

.Party spirit had taken possession of the people, and contests 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 213 

began to be bitter and earnest. In 1788, the candidates for gov- 
ernor were John Langdon, Republican, and General Sullivan, Fed- 
eralist. Langdon received eight votes, and Sullivan only seven. 
Nearly half of the votes of the town were not cast when that ofifice 
was voted for, either from a feeling of indifference or because the 
factions to which the non-voters belonged had no candidates. 

The election of 1789 was a hotly-contested one as there were four 
candidates for president, and all of them were good men. The issue 
was on their party alliances and not on their merits as statesmen 
or their efficiency to fill that office. In Lancaster John Picker- 
ing, Federalist, received every vote cast. Pickering, however, was 
beaten by General Sullivan when the election was carried before the 
legislature. When the election came around the following year with 
Pickering as Federalist candidate sixteen votes were cast for him, 
with only four against him, in favor of Joshua Wentworth. Neither 
candidate, however, was chosen as the legislature elected, and Dr. 
Josiah Bartlett was their choice. 

The full number of twenty-seven votes were cast at this election. 
Both candidates for congress in 1793, Jeremiah Smith and John S. 
Sherbourne, received the full ^ote of the town. No serious changes 
had taken place in the division of the vote on other officers during 
the last few years; but in the election of 1794, opinion had so effec- 
tually changed that for the first time in the history of the town the 
whole vote was given to Beza Woodward who ran for governor in 
opposition to John Taylor Gilman, the long-tried Federalist leader of 
the state. The number of votes cast that year was thirty-five. As 
once before, the entire vote of the town went for nothing by being 
given to the candidate who stood no show of election, as Gilman 
received four votes to Woodward's one. During the long term of 
Governor Gilman's holding the office — thirteen years — politics in 
Lancaster were at a low ebb. It is impossible to discover any evi- 
dence of more than the most common-place interest in elections. 
Other matters seem to have engrossed the attention of the people. 
The town had seventy polls in 1794, and its wealth had increased 
considerably, so that when the state tax reached twenty-seven 
thousand dollars Lancaster's proportion was thirty-eight dollars 
and eleven cents, which was a large sum for those times. The 
school tax was one hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-seven 
cents, one third of which had to be paid in silver money, and two 
thirds could be paid in marketable wheat at the rate of one dol- 
dollar a bushel. The people were more concerned about paying a 
little more than two hundred dollars taxes, than they were about the 
difference between a Federalist and a Republican acting as governor 
of the state. 

Under the lone and honest administration of Governor Gilman 



214 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the state enjoyed a marked degree of prosperity. Law and order 
characterized the conduct of the people everywhere ; and a good 
class were attracted to the state as settlers. Many from the older 
communities south of the state came into it and settled upon its 
cheap and abundant lands. In this general immigration Lancaster 
shared, as the fame of the Upper Coos country had gone abroad. 
As the century was drawing to a close a new order of things was 
apparent in the life of the town. The hard struggle for existence 
was to give way to a better condition of things. New settlers were 
now coming to buy the vacant lands, and to open up new farms, 
and build homes. Most of these newcomers were men and women 
of marked worth and character. From Portsmouth, Greenland, 
and other of the older settled towns there came many men and 
women of ability, of mind and character, and fully fitted in other 
respects to enter into the renewed life of the town. This influx 
of intelligent population made many improvements of things pos- 
sible. They changed the character of the town to a great extent, 
though their political relations did not immediately work a great 
change in the party standing of the vote of the town. In 1801 
there were cast for Gilman fifty-six votes for governor ; but a year 
later he only received fifty-three, while his competitor, John Lang- 
don, received seven. 

A point had been reached in the development of the town when, 
through immigration and the reaching of their majority of a large 
number of the sons of the older settlers, the voters rapidly increased 
until in 1804 there were ninety-nine votes cast in the state election. 
The candidates that year were Gilman and John Langdon. Gilman 
received ninety votes while Langdon got only nine. The contest 
was a hot one from a party point of view. The two great 
parties, Federalist and Democratic-Republican, were bitterly arrayed 
against each other over grave national issues. The election of Jef- 
ferson as president had filled the Federalists with gloom. They 
abused the president and predicted all kinds of calamities as certain 
to take place because of the change in the party administration of 
the general government. Lancaster then became so thoroughly 
aroused over party politics that thenceforth she has always been 
divided in her vote on strict party lines. The time had gone by 
when any man could secure all her votes for any high office in 
either state or national governments. 

It was at that election of 1804 that the first ofificials of Coos 
county were elected. Party lines did not hold as strictly in the 
selection of county officers as they did in the election of state and 
national officers. Although Moses P. Payson received seventy-five 
votes for senator in the twelfth district as against five for William 
Tarlton, it would seem that many voters broke over the party lines 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 21 5 

when it came to voting for county officers. William Lovejoy re- 
ceived eighty-seven votes for register of deeds, while his competitor, 
Stephen Wilson, only received two. Joseph Peverly received seven- 
ty-seven for treasurer, while Jeremiah Eames for the same office 
only received one. Stephen Wilson was a good man, while it may 
be doubted if Lovejoy was his equal in point of popularity. These 
facts go to show that the voters were governed more by their politi- 
cal opinions or preferences for particular fitness in the candidate for 
office ; and that they had got done voting at the dictation of 
prominent local leaders. At all events from this time forward the 
development of political parties went on more rapidly than before 
in town. There was much zeal displayed in local, as well as state 
and national, politics. Federalism was, and had been, rampant and 
triumphant for more than a decade, and it seemed as if it was so 
thoroughly entrenched in the confidence of the people that it would 
hold sway for many a year to come ; but such appearances were 
deceptive, for at the election of 1805, John Langdon, the bitter and 
obstinate opponent of Federalism, was elected governor by a 
majority of four thousand. For some years the vote of Lancaster 
was so divided that a fair-sized majority went to the support of the 
Democratic-Republican party. 

The prophesies that the country would go to ruin under the ad- 
ministration of Jefferson proved false. On the contrary there was 
much prosperity enjoyed ; and some of the peculiar doctrines of 
his party were either ignored or violated by Jefferson, as in the 
matter of the " Louisiana Purchase." The president and his party 
won friends everywhere, even in far-off Lancaster. There was left 
but a remnant, and that not a very large one, of the Federalists. At 
the election of 1808, only thirty-five votes were cast in Lancaster. 
Of them Langdon, Republican, received eight; Oilman, the tried and 
proven Federalist, received sixteen. Jeremiah Smith, Federalist, 
got one vote, and R. C. Everett, ten. This was evidently due to the 
complete reversion of political power in the election of 1805, for the 
election of the year following was without the appearance of rivalry 
among the parties. It is difficult to surmise the cause of such a 
heavy decline in the votes cast for the two popular party candidates 
in 1808, on any other ground than that of a complete indifference 
in politics from the defeat of 1805, during the next two years. At 
all events but few of the people voted. Many, no doubt, were in- 
fluenced by the religious opposition to Jefferson. He was called an 
atheist, and it was said he was hostile to religion, the church, and 
especially the Bible. Jefferson was nothing of the kind nor was he 
hostile to church or Bible. Good old Deacon Wilder was one of 
the "false prophets" in Lancaster; and as he was popular in the 
church probably influenced many persons into a state of political in- 



2l6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

difference during the few years referred to. The events leading up 
to the embargo act, and the non-intercourse act, had the effect to 
arouse the FederaHsts, who were the chief commerciaHsts of New 
England, to renewed activity in 1808. The excitement did not 
reach Lancaster, however, that year ; but in the following year the 
town felt the influence of the mighty wave of public sentiment that 
was sweeping over the entire country. The commerce of the country 
was being ruined ; and industries of every kind were being paralysed. 
The commerical prosperity enjoyed for many years by Portsmouth 
had been completely ruined ; and the Federalists believed that the 
Republican administration and party were responsible for it. The 
Federalists wanted our marine protected against British and French 
interference, and the administration had suffered it to be outraged on 
the very coasts of our own country. A distrust and revulsion of 
public sentiment favored the chances of the Federalist party coming 
back into power; and in 1809 there was one of the hottest party 
contests that have ever • been seen in this country. A Federal 
delegation to congress had been secured in New Hampshire. This 
gave the Federalists new hopes, and they put forth most heroic 
efforts to carry the state, which they did by a majority of a little 
more than two hundred for Jeremiah Smith as governor. Nearly 
thirty-one thousand votes were cast, while at the preceding elec- 
tion not more than fifteen thousand votes were thrown, of which 
Langdon, Republican, had received thirteen thousand, and Oilman, 
Federalist, twelve hundred and sixty-one, with a few hundred scat- 
tering votes for other candidates. 

In 1809 Lancaster aroused from her indifference. While she had 
but thirty-five votes in 1808, in 1809 she cast ninety-five votes, 
of which Jeremiah Smith, Federalist, received seventy-three, and 
Langdon, Republican, twenty-two. A renewed interest in politics 
was taken, and in 18 10 one hundred and eight votes were cast, of 
which Jeremiah Smith received eighty-five and Langdon twenty- 
three. This marks quite a growth in the Federal party. That 
party, however, had gained control of the entire state government 
and the delegation in congress. This tidal wave of political rever- 
sion turned back in the opposite direction the next year, and as 
completely put everything in the hands of the Republicans. A 
compensation for this may be found in the fact that it spared New 
Hampshire the humiliation that would have inevitably followed the 
election of a senator and members of congress opposed to the ad- 
ministration, and such a party representation in congress might have 
prevented the declaration of war, a calamity that would have been 
simply incalculable in its effects upon the destiny of the United 
States. The Federalists of New England were blind to the faults of 
Great Britain, while they magnified the sins of France against our 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 2 1/ 

commerce into gigantic proportions. The Republicans, on the con- 
trary, were bold to denounce the wrongs of England against our 
commerce. Federalism had a strong hold upon Lancaster voters, 
who were conservative, and seem to have had less respect for the 
national government than their otherwise patriotic conduct in the 
past would lead one to expect. There was a remnant of the people 
of the state, however, that were moved by the recollection of British 
wrongs to Americans, and in the election of i8ii gave Langdon a 
majority of nearly three thousand votes. This called upon him an 
unmerited amount of abuse from the Federalist party of the state. 
They forgot his patriotic services in the War of the Revolution, and 
heaped upon him every imaginable reproach ; but the legislature 
supported his policy, and together they held the state to her duty 
during that period of crisis. The Federalists boldly talked of sepa- 
ration from the Union and an alliance with England. While that 
sentiment was sustained by many voters in this town, there were few 
who dared openly to advocate it. Much strong feeling existed on 
the subject. 

In 1 8 ID, during the period of intense party strife, the question of 
the revision of the state constitution was voted on. Lancaster gave 
but one vote in favor of it, and forty against it. This was not a 
political question, and as party strife ran high, neither party cared 
to risk any change in the constitution lest it should operate against 
its future welfare. 

In the election of 1812 the full strength of the Federalist party 
was shown by its vote in this town. All the candidates, among 
whom was Daniel Webster, candidate for congress, received ninety- 
one votes, while the opposition only carried twenty^-seven. The 
Republicans — or as they were then beginning to be called, Demo- 
crats — carried the election, securing the election of William Plumer, 
Jr., as governor. He had been up to that date a Federalist, but 
upon the stirring questions of the day he could no longer be classed 
with the Federalists. Through the campaign of that year Plumer 
was accused before the public as having been once a zealous Bap- 
tist preacher, and then an unbeliever. The fact that he was for 
years a Federalist, and had become a Democrat, was charged against 
him. Through the sectarian religious prejudice, as well as party 
prejudice, against him and Judge Smith, the election was thrown 
into the legislature, where he received one hundred and four votes 
to eighty-two against him, in favor of Oilman. He made a good 
governor, and carried New Hampshire proudly through the War of 
18 12. His Democratic predecessor had kept the state militia in 
good condition, so that when Plumer came into office he found it 
no hard task to comply with the demands upon the state for sol- 
diers for the war then upon the country. Lancaster was not slow in 



2l8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

responding to that call, for Capt. John W. Weeks raised a company 
and was attached to Col. Moody Bedel's regiment, the Eleventh 
United States Infantry, mainly made up of New Hampshire men. 
A majority of the one hundred and forty-six men in Captain Weeks's 
company were Democrats; some of them, after their return to civil 
life, were among the leading local politicians of that party. 

Party lines were closely drawn in Lancaster. The excitement and 
the issues at stake in the war did not change the relative number 
of votes between the parties. In the election of 1814 the Federal- 
ists cast ninety-one votes for Oilman, while only twenty-nine were 
given Plumer. The small vote for the latter is to be accounted for 
in the absence of so large a number of men in the army who were 
Democrats, and who, had they been at home would, no doubt, have 
given Plumer nearly as large a vote as Oilman received. The Fed- 
eralist party had espoused a bad cause in obstructing certain meas- 
ures of the war, which was now drawing to a close with a complete 
vindication of the position taken by the Democrats. The Federalist 
party had received its death wounds, inflicted by its own hand. Its 
adherents in Lancaster yielded slowly and with anything but patri- 
otism and gracefulness. As a condemned party it died hard. Men 
of prominence continued to vote with it long after its doom was 
sealed by public sentiment recorded in a vote against it that in- 
creased every year by a significant majority throughout the country. 
This general decline of their party had no effect upon Lancaster 
Federalists ; they adhered to the dying party with a devotion that 
was anything but commendable. As late as 18 16, when Joseph 
Sheafe of Portsmouth was the Federalist candidate for governor, 
he received seventy-two votes to thirty-nine for Plumer, who was 
elected by a decisive majority. The Federalists sustained a com- 
plete defeat, as had been foreseen by Oilman, who refused to be any 
longer his party's candidate for governor. 

Seeing their party was going to its doom, many Federalists 
voted for Plumer in 181 7. He received that year fifty-one votes, 
the same number that Sheafe did. For state senator, the vote was 
the same. 

In the following year there were only ninety-one votes cast, of 
which Plumer received fifty-one, and Jeremiah Mason forty. Plumer 
was elected by about the same relative majority throughout the state 
that he received in Lancaster. The pace of Federalist decline had 
been set, and Lancaster was falling into line for a change to the 
opposite party. 

In the election of 18 19 the difference had grown still greater, for 
Samuel Bell, Democratic candidate for governor, received fifty-seven 
votes, while William Hale, Federalist, only received thirty-nine. 
The votes for members of congress show a most remarkable depart- 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 219 

ure from the party vote for governor. No less than fifteen persons 
were voted for, with the following results : Josiah Butler, forty-nine ; 
William Plumer, Jr., forty-three; Nathaniel Upham, forty-eight; 
Clifton Claggett, forty-four; Joseph Buffum, Jr., forty-one ; Arthur 
Livermore, seventy-six ; Joseph Buffum, five ; William Plumer, one ; 
Jeremiah Smith, forty-three ; John Haven, forty-two ; Stephen 
Moody, four; Parker Noyes, forty-one; Levi Jackson, forty-one; 
Mills Olcott, thirty-six ; Jonathan Wilcox, two. This result of vot- 
ing was partly due to the irregular manner of bringing congres- 
sional candidates before town elections, but mainly to the spirit of 
political independence that characterizes people at the time of party 
decadences when they are readjusting themselves. The voters were 
disposed to assert some right to select the men of either party 
most in favor with them. Besides, the so-called "Era of good 
feeling " was at hand in which everybody was rejoicing at the re- 
turn of prosperity and peace. Our country had taken her stand 
on great international questions, and had won the day. The na- 
tion was honored abroad and loved at home. The Federalists 
were heartily ashamed of the part they played in that great drama, 
and the Democratic-Republican party had covered itself with honor 
by its management of the war and the manner in which national 
harmony was produced. A spirit of perfect union and concord 
was now ushered in. Party spirit ran low at the time. Samuel 
Bell, Democratic-Republican candidate for governor in 1820, 
received nearly all the votes of the town, one hundred and twelve, 
with seven recorded as "scattering." No great excitement took 
place over the election of president. It was a foregone conclusion 
that Monroe would be elected. At the November election the 
highest number of votes cast for electors was twenty-three for Ezra 
Bartlett. William Plumer received twenty, and the other six, from 
eight to nineteen votes. There was little to indicate party spirit 
except that a few Federalist votes were cast for Jeremiah Mason and 
Jeremiah Smith in the election of 1821. The former got one vote, 
and the latter six, while Samuel Bell was honored with one hundred 
and fourteen. Ezekiel Webster also got two votes. Bell had proven 
himself a good executive ofificer and had won the confidence of the 
people, and therefore he received the bulk of the votes. Nothing 
was to be gained by voting him down for another, though any of 
his rivals that year were his equal in worth and ability as citizens 
and statesmen. 

In the following year Bell received ninety-seven votes, and Mason 
only three. Not more than three fourths of the people voted, for 
there must have been not less than one hundred and fifty voters 
in town at the time. In the election of 1823, party spirit again 
broke out in something of its old-time fervor. Samuel Dinsmore 



220 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

was the Democratic-Republican candidate, with young Levi Wood- 
bury opposing him. Lancaster gave Dinsmore one hundred and 
nine votes, and thirty-one to Woodbury. John Wilson was elected 
representative that year on party issues, as Adino N. Brackett had 
been two years before. The vote for congressman was much 
divided. Edmund Parker received fifty-five, Richard Odell thirty, 
and Arthur Livermore thirty-six. There were that year one hun- 
dred and fifty-four voters in town, only one hundred and twenty-one 
of whom exercised the right of franchise. This would seem to indi- 
cate considerable indifference in the matter of party relations. The 
next year the country was much stirred over the four candidates for 
president, and New Hampshire, and Lancaster even, partook of that 
excitement. The four candidates of that campaign Vv'ere Andrew 
Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William H. Craw- 
ford. An effort had been made to secure regular party candidates 
through the Caucus System, but it failed, and the campaign degen- 
erated into a personal scramble for the office, giving rise to the 
designation of the campaign as " The scrub race for the presidency." 
So far as New Hampshire was concerned the issues of the race lay 
between Adams and Jackson. The real issue was over the so-called 
construction of the constitution of the United States. The terms 
"Loose" and "Close Constructionists" were used to determine 
whether the candidates favored a close or loose construction of the 
constitution in regard to matters of " Internal Improvements and a 
Tariff for the Protection of American Industries." These designa- 
tions so completely ignored the old party names that they became 
the forerunners of a new name and new party. Adams was elected 
as a " Loose Constructionist " by the house of representatives, as the 
popular vote failed to make a choice. Because of the united oppo- 
sition to Adams's administration of the " Strict Constructionists," 
the Democratic-Republican party, which by this time was struggling 
to either swallow or drop its tail and go by the designation of 
Democrats alone, Adams and Clay, led their factions under the 
name of " National Republicans," which name a few years later was 
changed to that of "Whigs." Under both those names the party 
maintained the Loose Construction principles of the Federalist 
party. In that memorable campaign Lancaster gave Levi Wood- 
bury, Jacksonian Democrat, one hundred and twelve votes, and 
David L. Morril, Loose Constructionist, twenty-five votes only. For 
electors the Adams candidates all received fifty-four votes, except 
Moses White who received only forty ballots. 

Both of the leading parties had lost their distinctive names and 
had come to accept others not calculated to last long as they simply 
designated a national policy that would certainly be settled soon. 
This directed attention to the ability and integrity of the candidates 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 221 

to carry that question of the construction of the constitution to an 
early issue. In the election of 1825, coming within a week of the 
inauguration of Adams and Calhoun, the Loose Construction party's 
candidate, David L. Morril, all but carried the town of Lancaster 
unanimously, for he received one hundred and twenty-nine votes, 
with only two against him. In the state he received nearly thirty 
thousand as against five hundred and sixty-three, set down as 
" scattering." The elections were conducted with reference to 
national questions ; there were no state or local political questions 
in this state or town. 

Andrew Jackson was growing in popularity, and his name had in 
it a charm for the old-time Democrats. Adams was losing popu- 
larity all the time. When Benjamin Pierce was put forward in 
1826, as a Jacksoriian Democratic candidate for governor, he proved 
to be the most popular man before the voters. He received one 
hundred and twenty-nine votes in Lancaster, and Morril, who had 
been so popular the year before, only got twenty-four votes. The 
excitement over the two champions — Adams and Jackson — was so 
great as to call out the heaviest vote ever cast in Lancaster, one hun- 
dred and fifty-three. So popular had Pierce become that the next 
year he received an almost unanimous vote throughout the state. 
This year John W. Weeks was elected to the state senate as a 
Jacksonian Democrat, and Richard Eastman was elected as 
representative. 

Matters were shaping themselves to involve Lancaster in the hot- 
test political contest she had ever seen. As politics had turned so 
largely upon personal leadership, instead of on political questions, the 
contest that was coming for 1828 was to be a hot one. Jackson's 
grievances had been preached all over the country so much that the 
masses began to sympathize with him as a wronged man. His 
heroism at the battle of New Orleans — his marked personality — 
appealed to the people strongly ; they were anxious to vindicate 
him. 

At the March meeting of that year, John Bell, the Adams can- 
didate, received one hundred and two votes, while Pierce, the 
Jacksonian candidate, got eighty-eight. This shows a marked gain 
of the Jackson party. In the November meeting for choice of 
presidential electors, the Adams candidates received one hundred 
and fourteen votes to one hundred for the Jackson men. Jackson 
was elected president, however, and when another election occurred 
his influence was visible in the result of the ballot. The Adams 
candidate, John Bell, only received ninety-five votes for governor, 
while Pierce carried one hundred and twelve votes. Pierce was 
badly beaten in the state, but that did not cool the ardor of his 
party whose hero-leader was in the presidential chair. Of the two 



2 22 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

hundred and ten voters in town, two hundred and seven cast their 
votes at that election There was no indifference to stop any one 
from voting then, as had often been the case before. Party feeHng 
and party zeal were rife that were to crystallize into two strong na- 
tional parties. The next year, 1830, shows another hot contest be- 
tween the followers of the two great champions. Matthew Harvey 
was the Jacksonian candidate for governor, with Timothy Upton 
arrayed against him as an Adams man. There was a decided Dem- 
ocratic gain, for Harvey got one hundred and twenty-five votes, and 
Upton only ninety-six. The Adams party were not holding their 
own in the contests, while the Jackson party were making rapid gains. 
It was at this election that Jared W. Williams was first elected rep- 
resentative as a Jacksonian Democrat. That was the beginning of 
a bright political career for Williams. He entered public life on 
the high tide of Jacksonian Democracy, and held his place until his 
death. 

The campaign of 1831 was a hotly contested one, and one of 
considerable interest to Lancaster. The candidates for governor 
were Samuel Dinsmore, Democrat, and Ichabod Bartlett, an Adams 
man, who still held to the Federalist principles. Bartlett was one 
of the most famous lawyers in the state, ranking with Daniel Web- 
ster, Levi Woodbury, and Jeremiah Mason. Party ties were strong 
and could not be broken for even so gifted a man as Bartlett. His 
devotion to doctrines held by Adams was against him. His op- 
ponent received one hundred and forty-four votes, while he only 
secured seventy-nine. The state and town were too much de- 
voted to Jackson to swerve an inch for even the best men in the 
state. The vote for members of congress this year was substan- 
tially the same as that for governor, with the exception of Maj. 
John W. Weeks of Lancaster, who received a heavier vote than any 
other candidate. He was one of the most prominent citizens of the 
town, and as a matter of compliment some of his neighbors crossed 
the party lines to vote for him. The following year showed no 
important change in the situation; the same candidates for gov- 
ernor were up and received substantially the same vote as the year 
before. Dinsmore received one hmidred and thirty-eight, and Bart- 
lett sixty-six. Nineteen less votes were cast than on the previous 
year, which was of more interest, as members of congress were 
elected that year, and in 1832 only state and county officers were 
elected, which did not call out the full vote. 

The year 1833 was of uncommon interest in the history of poli- 
tics in this state, as in that campaign the Adams party almost 
entirely disappeared from the political arena. Incredible as it may 
seem, the party of John Quincy Adams, the lingering relic of Fed- 
eralism, received almost no votes that year. The party's candidate 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 223 

for governor, Arthur Livermore, one of the most noted jurists in the 
state and a man of unimpeachable character, only received three 
thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine votes in the entire state, while 
his competitor, Samuel Dinsmore, received twenty-eight thousand 
two hundred and seventy-seven. Dinsmore carried one hundred 
and thirty-seven votes in Lancaster, and Francis Ferrin of Lancas- 
ter, one. 

The following year the vote for governor was almost unanimous. 
William Badger received one hundred and eleven out of one hun- 
dred and thirteen cast in this town. Jared W. Williams was elected 
to the state senate by a handsome majority, as was Richard Eastman 
to the house of representatives. The Jacksonian Democracy was 
now dominant throughout the country. Devotion to Jackson's party 
was about synonynous with patriotism. Jackson had gotten his 
opponents under his feet, and his party was following his example 
everywhere. 

William Badger of Gilmanton was the Democratic candidate for 
governor in 1834, and received one hundred and eleven votes in 
Lancaster, while Ichabod Bartlett could count but two. Badger's 
vote in the s^ate was twenty-eight thousand five hundred and forty- 
two, as against one thousand six hundred and thirty-one for Bartlett. 

These annual contests were often reversed in a measure, and it 
happened that in 1835 the Whig candidate carried away from his 
Democratic competitor many votes. Joseph Healey, Whig candi- 
date for governor, received about fifteen thousand votes in the state, 
and seventy-one of them were cast for him in Lancaster, as against 
one hundred and twelve for Badger, the Democrat. 

Until this time New Hampshire had no party leader who was not 
the shadow of some politician of national prominence ; but there 
was coming the time when one of her own sons was destined to 
become the controlling spirit in her political contests. That person- 
ality was Isaac Hill of Concord. Isaac Hill had been in Concord 
as editor of the Amei'ican Patriot since 1809; and now, after 
more than a quarter of a century of devoted service to politics, he 
had succeeded in moulding public opinion after the fashion of his 
own mind. He was a man of decided convictions and tireless ener- 
gies. He wrote with great force and clearness, carrying to others 
the sincere convictions that prompted him. Naturally, he had be- 
come the most influential politician in the state, and was destined 
to be, henceforth, the controlling spirit of the Democratic party; 
and so effectually did he dominate it that it was not long before the 
term "Isaac Hill Democrat" was as current as "Jacksonian Demo- 
crat" had been. The hero of New Orleans was eclipsed by the 
editor of the Patriot in New Hampshire. Mr. Hill had been named 
by President Jackson for a place in the treasury department in 1830, 



224 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

but the senate refused to confirm his nomination. Hill's next move 
was to secure his election to the United States senate, which he 
easily accomplished. 

Isaac Hill was master of the political situation in New Hampshire, 
for he had the most devoted support of such men as Pierce, Hibbard, 
Atherton, and others of ability and prominence throughout the 
state. His will was supreme in the councils of his party; and when 
he planned one of those annual political contests it always went 
as he directed. Success attended his leadership, and his friends 
became evermore devoted to him. When he sought election as 
governor in 1836, he carried everything before him. In Lancaster 
he received ninety-eight votes, while Joseph Healey, Whig, secured 
but one vote. More than one half of the voters did not vote that 
year, for Lancaster had nearly two hundred and thirty polls at the 
time. The Whigs, as the successors of the Federalists, were quite 
numerous in Lancaster ; but they lacked leadership to bring them 
into action against such an organized force as the " Isaac Hill 
Democrats," with local leaders like Jared W. Williams and Maj. 
John W. Weeks, and still others younger and more ardent than 
these. 

It is worthy of note, though not of any political or party signifi- 
cance, that at this election a vote was called for the expediency of 
erecting an asylum for the insane. The vote was seventy in favor 
of the measure, with only eight against it in this town. Pretty 
nearly the same unanimity was expressed by the towns of the state, 
and the asylum was erected at Concord. There was no political or 
organized effort made against this object. The votes cast against 
it were simply such as are always cast against any public expendi- 
tures by people too ignorant or selfish to appreciate, or discrimi- 
nate in regard to such measures. 

The election of 1837 was even more perfectly dominated by the 
Hill party than that of the preceding year. The old governor 
received every vote cast for that ofifice, unless the town clerk was 
remiss in his duty of making proper record, for not a vote was 
recorded as cast for the Whig candidate. Isaac Hill received 
ninety-nine votes. Jared W. Williams was elected to congress with 
no votes cast for his rival ; but strange as it may seem, Adino N. 
Brackett, a Whig of pronounced opinions, was elected to the legis- 
lature. This must be accounted for on the ground of his superior 
fitness for that office which he had filled a number of terms to the 
entire satisfaction of all persons regardless of party. 

A time had now come when Lancaster was to become the scene 
of hot party contest. The Whigs had been without local or state 
leaders of any magnetism or ability to cope with so formidable a 
rival as Isaac Hill and his cohorts. The Whig party was without a 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 225 

press to advocate their doctrines. They now began to organize and 
establish newspapers for their dissemination. In Lancaster a com- 
pany of the most prominent Whigs was formed for the publication 
of a newspaper, the White Monntain y^gis, published under the 
firm name of A. Perkins & Co. 

The paper was edited by Apollos Perkins, and the composition 
and press work were performed by himself and another young man 
by the name of J. F. C. Hayes, a veteran of the Civil War, and a 
resident at Groveton, where he died April 30, 1898. For a full ac- 
count of this paper the reader is referred to Chapter 11, Part II, 
of this history. This paper was very ably edited. Its first issue 
was on Tuesday, May 22, 1838, in which the editor presented an 
address to his patrons, in which he set forth his aims to conduct a 
thoroughly sound Whig newspaper, holding ever to the principles of 
Washington and his compatriots. The editorials were very able, and 
its influence in arousing the lethargic Whigs in Lancaster and other 
towns in Coos county can be seen in the first election held after the 
launching of this new enterprise. The March meeting had been 
carried by the Isaac Hill party, for the old leader was still in his 
prime, and not a follower of his had ever weakened under the per- 
suasions of the opposition. 

Lancaster gave Hill one hundred and thirty-two votes, and the 
Whig candidate carried off one hundred and seventeen. This was 
pretty nearly the full vote of the town. Richard Eastman, Demo- 
crat, for representative received one hundred and seventy votes, 
Adino N. Brackett, Whig, carried to his party one hundred and 
nineteen votes, leaving three to be recorded as " scattering." The 
influence of the ^Sgis was to be seen in the election of 1839. It 
had aroused its party, and had succeeded in stirring the opposition 
into a fury. The old men of the Hill party led in council, but its 
young men led in the open assaults upon the enemy in the cam- 
paign. It was at this time that John S. Wells and Harry Hibbard 
threw themselves into the front ranks of the Democratic party and 
made themselves names as party champions of no small degree. 

Wells was a young lawyer of marked ability, and Hibbard was 
a law student of remarkable versatility and volubility of speech. 
Wells was the Hill party's candidate for representative against 
Royal Joyslin, a Whig and man of considerable influence in the 
community, one of the leading merchants of the town since 1825. 
Wells received the full party vote, and defeated Joyslin. Hibbard 
had been very active in the campaign, and the grim humor and 
sarcasm of the leading men of that time suggested to them that 
perhaps he had been a little too forward for one of his years, and 
one man promptly nominated him for hogreeve. The idea was 
no sooner expressed than it was accomplished. Mr. Hibbard found 
16 



226 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

himself an officer of the town to the merriment of his poHtical rivals. 
This was intended as a rebuke to him ; but he promptly announced 
his intention of faithfully filling the office even to the extent of 
" taking up the biggest hog in town the first time he met him on 
the streets," meaning thereby the man who made the motion upon 
which he had been elected to an office that carried with it some 
degree of stigma, especially to one who aspired to something higher. 
Higher honors, however, were awaiting young Hibbard. At the 
ensuing session of the legislature he was made assistant clerk of the 
house, a position he filled with much ease and dignity. In after 
years he became a prominent leader in his party, and a lawyer of 
great repute. He was later member of congress, and candidate for 
United States senator. 

In the presidential contest of 1840 political excitement ran high 
in Lancaster. The national contest lay between Harrison and Van 
Buren, men of marked ability as candidates. The campaign in Lan- 
caster, as elsewhere, was known as the " hard cider campaign." 
Lancaster was much agitated over the contest. Enos Stevens, Whig 
candidate for governor, received ninety-nine votes, and John Page, 
Democrat, one hundred and forty-two. John S. Wells was again 
elected representative by one hundred and twenty-eight votes. 
Democratic electors received one hundred and sixty-four votes, 
while the Whigs carried as high as one hundred and thirty-six. 

This shows a marked growth of Whig sentiment in two years since 
they began to stir themselves for a better party organization. Much 
of this gain must be credited to the White Mountain y^gis, which 
was now reaching nearly every family in town, and its influence 
must have been considerable as it tore the veil of political hypocrisy 
off the leading questions of the day. So powerful had this new 
paper become that the leaders of the Democratic party saw the im- 
portance of establishing a rival paper, which they did by issuing the 
first number of the Cods Democrat on Tuesday, September 11, 1838. 

The enterprise was promoted and backed by such leaders of the 
party as Maj. John W. Weeks, Jared W. Williams, and John S. 
Wells. The office of the paper was in the Wells building, now the 
store of E. R. Kent and the banking-rooms of the Lancaster Savings 
Bank and the Lancaster Trust Company on Main street. The edi- 
tor of the new paper was James M. Rix, a young man of excellent 
ability and a devoted Democrat. He had associated with him in 
the enterprise as a partner J. R. Whittemore, w^ho was styled propri- 
etor and publisher. The editors of these rival papers, both young 
men of talent, were not disposed to handle each other's sayings with 
much tenderness or considerateness. Their editorials were often 
more forcible than polite, but they served to deepen party spirit and 
keep alive the flames of partisan strife. 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 22/ 

Party lines were beginning to break along a new line of cleavage 
hitherto unknown in American politics. The Abolitionists were 
making demands upon the political parties of the country, and as 
they were slow to recognize and favor their demands a new party 
was being called into the arena of political discussion and destined 
to make its demands known at the polls. In the campaign of 1841, 
the Abolitionist party, the Free Soil party, first appeared. The 
Democratic party carried the state by a large majority. It received 
over twenty-nine thousand votes, while Enos Stevens, the Whig can- 
didate, received twenty-one thousand, and Daniel Hoit, the Free 
Soil candidate, received nearly three thousand votes in the state. 
In the Lancaster vote the results were : John Page, Democrat, 
received the usual majority. William Holkins, Free Soil candidate 
for governor, received five votes. John S. Wells and Royal JoysHn 
were the candidates for representative. Wells received one hundred 
and twenty-five votes to Joyslin's one hundred and fifteen. So well 
was this election conducted that it shows every voter as voting. 

The Whigs were making a gain even in New Hampshire, dom- 
inated as it was by the influence 6f Jackson and Isaac Hill. In 
Lancaster they were reducing the Democratic majorities every year. 
In the election of 1842, with three candidates for governor, Hub- 
bard, Democrat, only received ninety-four votes. Anthony Colby, 
Whig, received eighty-one, and John H. White, Independent Dem- 
ocrat, sixty-two. The records show no Abolitionist vote. John S. 
Wells was again elected to the legislature with a much-reduced 
majority. This quadrangular form of contest had tended to deepen 
the interest of all parties in the issues of the near future. It was 
evident that with two Democratic parties and an Abolition party 
in the field advantage must be to the Whigs. This gave them 
fresh hopes of carrying the town and state at no distant day. 
The next year there were four candidates for governor : Henry 
Hubbard, Democrat; Anthony Colby, Whig; John H. White, 
Independent Democrat; and Daniel Hoit, Free Soil. Hubbard led 
with ninety-four votes ; Colby followed next with eighty-one ; 
White was third on the list with sixty-two ; and Hoit had but four 
this year. There could be no choice made for representative, and 
the town was not represented at the June session of the legislature 
of that year. The split in the Democratic ranks had left them no 
stronger than the Whigs. The campaign of 1844, with Henry Clay 
as the Whig candidate for president, stimulated the Whigs to 
renewed energy and effort to win the contest. With them it was a 
foregone conclusion that Clay would be elected, and the hope 
inspired the Whigs of Lancaster to put forth their best efforts to 
ride into power on the high tide of popular interest in the party's 
presidential candidate. There were the four candidates for governor 



22 8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

as on two previous years. John H. White, a resident of Lancaster, 
was the standard-bearer of the Independent Democrats ; Anthony 
Colby, the Whig representative; John H. Steele, Democrat; and 
Daniel Hoit, Free Soiler. In the state Steele received a small 
majority, while White received nearly two thousand votes. The 
Whigs polled fifteen thousand, and the Free Soilers nearly six thou- 
sand votes. In the town meeting there was great excitement. The 
scale had turned. The Whigs were coming to the front. So easily 
were they carrying the day that they brought forth for representa- 
tive William D. Weeks, a young man only twenty-six years of age, 
who received one hundred and twenty-five votes as a Whig. Amos 
LeGro, Democrat, received but ninety-six, John H. Spaulding had 
ten votes, and John Aspenwall, five. Col. Ephraim Cross of Lan- 
caster received one hundred and twenty-four votes for state senator, 
as against one hundred and thirty-five for all other candidates. He 
was a well-known Democrat, but being a citizen of Lancaster and a 
man much esteemed by all his neighbors he received many compli- 
mentary votes from other parties and factions. 

In the November election of that year the Democrats again car- 
ried the town for their electors for president, receiving as many as 
one hundred and sixty votes. The Whig candidates received one 
hundred and thirteen, and the Free Soil party eighteen votes. This 
turn of the vote from that of the March meeting was a great sur- 
prise and disappointment to the Whigs. 

At that election two state measures were voted upon. The ques- 
tion of calling a constitutional convention for the revision of the 
constitution of the state was one, and it was negatived by nearly the 
entire number of votes cast. The other question was upon abolish- 
ing capital punishment. This was likewise voted against by two 
hundred and two votes to ninety in favor of its abolishment. 
Lancaster has always held human life in sacred esteem, and at no 
time has public sentiment been in favor of dealing lightly with him 
who would ruthlessly destroy the life of his neighbor ; nor is this 
sentiment tempered with cruelty. The citizens of the town have 
always been noted for their humanity. They are bold and fear- 
less in criticism of one another, but they never have been fighters 
among themselves. Their political and other contests have often 
been bitter, but no man ever lifted his hand against his neighbor in 
mortal combat. 

The annual election of 1845 presents no severe contest. There 
were three parties in the field with their candidates for governor. 
The Democrats presented Governor Steele again. He received one 
hundred and fifty-three votes. Anthony Colby, the Whig candi- 
date, received ninety-one, and Daniel Hoit, Free Soiler, twenty-four. 
The Free Soil party had made a gain of six in a year. The Abo- 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 229 

lition sentiment was destined to grow in Lancaster, though it had 
arrayed against it two strong competitors. At that election Harvey 
Adams, a Democrat, was elected representative, and Col. Ephraim 
Cross was reelected to the state senate. 

The following year politics grew more interesting for Lancaster 
people. It had become apparent that the Democratic party was 
liable to a defeat in 1846. Some anxiety was felt by its leaders 
in town as to who could carry the state against the growing Whig 
party. Jared W. Williams put the question to Maj. John W. Weeks, 
whom the party had better bring forward as a candidate for gov- 
ernor at the election of that year? The Major replied, "Be 
governor yourself." That was the first intimation of such a possi- 
bility for Williams. Thinking the matter over seriously, however, 
he threw himself into the field and secured the party's endorsement 
of himself as candidate for governor. Excitement in Lancaster 
ran high over the candidacy of Williams. He carried a heavy vote 
in his own town, receiving one hundred and ninety-eight. Colby, 
the Whig candidate, who was elected by the legislature, received 
only sixty-nine votes. The Free Soil candidate, Nathaniel S. Berry, 
secured twenty-eight votes, an increase of four over the previous 
year. Harvey Adams was again elected representative by the usual 
vote. 

Mr. Williams was not elected ; but the next year, not discouraged 
by his defeat, he tried the question over, and this time secured a 
majority. He received only one hundred and eighty-five votes this 
year, which was twelve less than the previous year. Colby and 
N. S. Berry ran again as candidates of the Whig and Free Soil parties. 
Their combined votes did not exceed one hundred and twenty. 

It was at this election that James M. Rix, for nine years the able 
and successful editor of the Cods Democrat, entered the political 
arena as a candidate. He was chosen representative by a good 
majority. Mr. Rix was an able and a bold local leader, and did 
much to mold opinion in this section of the state. He was honest, 
impetuous, and often irritable in speech and action, a merciless 
critic of his political opponents. He was a patriotic citizen, and 
his party had unbounded confidence in him. He was reelected to 
the legislature the following year. At this election of 1848, Gov- 
ernor Williams was reelected by a slender majority over Nathaniel 
S. Berry, Free Soil candidate. Williams received 32,245 votes in 
the state, and Berry, 28,829. There were 468 set down as " scat- 
tering." The Whigs had no candidate that year, which left the 
contest between the Democrats and Free Soilers. Lancaster gave 
Williams one hundred and ninety-two votes, and Berry one hundred 
and six. In Lancaster, as throughout the state, the majority of the 
Whigs voted with the Free Soil party when they had no candidate 



230 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

of their own. This was, no doubt, an ominous sign to the Demo- 
crats, who could not but see in it a fate awaiting them. Again, in 
in 1849, there were three candidates for governor. The Democrats 
brought forward Samuel Dinsmore, Jr., who received 30,107 votes 
against 18,764 for Levi Chamberlain, Whig, and 7,045 for Berry, 
Free Soil candidate. In Lancaster, Dinsmore received one hundred 
and eighty-two votes ; Chamberlain, eighty-four, and Berry, twenty- 
eight. The vote had fallen back to the old party limits of several 
years before. At this election, Benjamin F. Whidden was elected to 
the legislature as a Democrat. Mr. Whidden later left the party and 
united with the Republican party, as many other Democrats did. 
Mr. Whidden was reelected the next year. He was again chosen 
representative in 1867. He held other offices; he was solicitor for 
Coos county, judge of probate, and held an appointment under the 
national government as first minister to the republic of Hayti. 

Politics had become very much disturbed about 1850. The Abo- 
litionists, arising as a party in 1844, were not a strong party in 
Lancaster ; but they were persistent. There was here a station of 
their " underground railroad " for helping runaway negroes into 
Canada. The original members of the party were from the old 
Whig party, and there was a hope that the entire Whig party would 
espouse their cause, which hope was later realized. The Demo- 
cratic party had already split in two, the come-outers styling them- 
selves " Independent Democrats," and John H. White, a Lancaster 
man, had been their candidate for governor in 1842 and 1844. 

The candidates for governor in 1850 were Samuel Dinsmore, Jr., 
Democrat, Levi Chamberlain, Whig, and Nathaniel S. Berry, Free 
Soil. Dinsmore received the usual heavy vote of the party, one hun- 
dred and ninety-one. The Whigs cast ninety-six votes for Chamber- 
lain, and Berry only got twenty-three. The vote had stood stubbornly 
at about these figures for some years, showing a firm determination 
on the part of the voters to hold their ground against any change 
that might be lurking in the near future, so full of threatening possi- 
bilities. 

This year there was a special election called in October to choose 
delegates to a constitutional convention at Concord, on the sixth of 
November. John H. White, a Democrat of independent proclivi- 
ties, was sent as delegate from Lancaster. His choice was one 
agreeable to all parties, as he was not an extreme party man. 

The next year was one of uncommon political activity and inter- 
est, and 1 85 I went down on the page of New Hampshire's history 
as its most remarkable campaign. The Democratic convention 
nominated that year the Rev. John Atwood, of New Boston, for 
governor. No sooner was he in the field than he was interviewed 
and written to on the slavery question. He soon became entangled 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 23 1 

in the position he took on the question, and drew down upon him- 
self a vast amount of hostile criticism, even from his own party, as 
his sympathies carried him in the direction of the Free Soil party's 
position, Mr. Rix, editor of the Cods Democrat, was pronounced 
in his opposition to him. Others discussed the question of a min- 
ister entering the political field, and very many silly things were said 
that marked his critics as being either ignorant or hypocritical. The 
feeling was so bitter against Mr. Atwood that the party reconvened 
the convention and dropped Mr. Atwood from the ticket, substitut- 
ing for him Samuel Dinsmore, Jr., who had twice been elected. 
Resolutions were passed severely condemning Mr. Atwood. Hav- 
ing been soundly berated by the Democrats as being a Free 
Soiler, Mr. Atwood was taken up by that party on the eve of the 
election, and made its candidate for governor. The hostility of the 
Coos Democrat to him, evidently based upon the supposition that 
he was in sympathy with the Abolitionist people, but veiled under 
the popular feeling, based wholly on ignorance, that a minister has 
no political rights, led many Democrats and Whigs to his support. 

The excitement ran high in Lancaster; so that when the election 
came, Mr. Atwood received one hundred and twenty-five votes. 
Samuel Dinsmore, Democrat, received only eighty-nine. Thomas 
E. Sawyer, Whig, received eighty-two, and Joel Eastman, not a reg- 
ular candidate, one. The vote of Lancaster was similar to that of 
the state at large, Atwood received 12,049 votes; Dinsmore, 27,- 
425; Sawyer, 18,458. The Whig vote had fallen seventy-four be- 
low that of 1850 in the state; the Democrats had lost 3,326, and 
the Free Soil party had gained 5,577 in the state, Lancaster was 
thus in line with the state in the reversion of its votes. 

No candidate that year could command a majority for the legis- 
lature, and the town was not represented at the June session, James 
M, Rix was his party's candidate for the state senate that year, and 
was not elected by the popular vote and Joseph Pitman of Bartlett 
was chosen by the legislature. His own town gave him only a plural- 
ity of one. His vote was one hundred and three, while Isaac Abbott 
of Littleton received only one less than Rix, and Pitman eighty-nine. 
Lyman Blandin received fifteen votes, Rix had overdone his as- 
sault on Atwood, and had turned many of his friends from his sup- 
port. The people had said by their votes that the minister, no more 
than the lawyer, physician, merchant, or farmer, should be ruled 
out of public service, Rix's defeat was simply a party bolt among 
Democrats, 

The election of the following year shows different results, Mr, 
Atwood was again the Free Soil party's candidate for governor, and 
received but one hundred and three votes. Sawyer, Whig, received 
the same number that Atwood did; and Thomas E, Martin, Demo- 



232 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

crat, one hundred and four. There was one vote each for Joel East- 
man and Lewis Cass, who were not regular candidates. At this 
election Mr. Rix again came forward as his party's candidate for 
the state senate, and was this time successful by a small majority. 
George A. Cossitt was chosen representative. 

The election of 1853 is an important one as marking the turning 
of some of the old leaders to the Free Soil party. Among that 
class was John H. White, who this year was the Free Soil can- 
didate for governor. He received only thirty-four votes in his own 
town, but a fair vote in the state. Governor Martin was again a 
candidate, and received one hundred and forty votes. James Bell, 
Whig, received one hundred and twelve. James M. Rix was again 
elected to the senate, and this year was president of that body. 

The Kansas-Nebraska trouble was now at its height, and in Lan- 
caster there was much sympathy felt for the Free Soil party. A 
contribution of clothing and other things had been collected here 
and forwarded to the sufferers in that struggle against the en- 
croachments of the slave power. Staunch Whigs- took a lively inter- 
est in the matter. The state was drifting away from her Democratic 
moorings. In Lancaster the excitement was deepening every year. 
Nathaniel B. Baker, Democrat, received one hundred and one votes 
for governor; James Bell, Whig, got one hundred and six ; Jared Per- 
kins, Free Soiler, one hundred and twenty-eight. On the other 
candidates the vote was divided more evenly, due wholly to local 
causes. It was this year that Jacob Benton entered the political 
arena as a Whig candidate for the legislature. He was elected, 
receiving one hundred and forty votes. John W. Lovejoy and 
William Burns, the latter a Democrat, received something over fifty 
votes each for the same ofifice. 

Lancaster was much affected by the changes that were now going 
on throughout the country. The Know Nothing party, a secret po- 
litical clan, was organized here. It had a hall, where it held its 
secret sessions, in a carriage-shop standing where the stable of 
the Van Dyke residence now is. The building was later moved to 
the corner of High and Summer streets, and is now owned by 
Wheelock H. Little. Here a little band met in the upper story to 
do, nobody knows just what. The rancor of the movement was 
directed, however, against foreign born citizens holding office. The 
organization contributed somewhat to intensify the excitement and 
feeling then prevailing, and continued two years. There is quite 
an exaggerated tradition still afloat of how Editor Rix got an 
observer, said to have been William H. Smith, to unite with the 
society and get its secrets for him to make a grand exposure of the 
party ; but when sifted, it turns out to be of no importance what- 
ever. The new party did, however, rally together 32,769 votes for 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 233 

Ralph Metcalf in 1855, by which he was elected governor. He re- 
ceived two hundred and sixty votes in Lancaster, the largest vote 
ever, up to that date, given any candidate for that office. Governor 
Baker, Democrat, only received ninety-four; Asa Fowler, Free Soil, 
five ; James Bell, Whig, fifteen. Jacob Benton and Edmund Brown, 
Know Nothing candidates for representatives, received the same vote 
that Metcalf did. This was the first year that Lancaster was entitled 
to two representatives in the legislature. Benton had dominated the 
Whig party the year before, and now had carried it over to the new 
party of Know Nothings, called at this time the American party, 
and Edmund Brown was a Free Soil leader. 

The spring election of 1856 was one of great excitement, and 
marks the beginning of a change destined to deepen the feel- 
ings of jealousy between the factions now coming together to form 
a new party against the Democrats. This was the last election in 
which the Whig party appeared under that name, as was also the 
case with the new American party and the Free Soil party. Daniel 
A. Bowe had started the Coos Republican as an anti-Nebaska or- 
gan in Lancaster, a newspaper destined to wield a large influence in 
the town in the years to come. The Republican party was be- 
ing organized throughout the country in January of that year, though 
old party names were still recognized in the March meeting in Lan- 
caster. The new party was not named in the town records until the 
November election of that year. 

On January 30, 1856, a convention was held at the town hall to 
organize for action against the Democratic party. This convention 
was for the whole of Coos county. Among the Lancaster men who 
took an active part in its deliberations and actions were : E. F. East- 
man, B. F. Whidden, Jacob Benton, John H. White, William R. 
Stockwell, Edmund Brown, John M. Whipple, Daniel A. Bowe, and 
A. L. Robinson. These were appointed a committee for the town 
of Lancaster, to organize the party. Other committees were ap- 
pointed for other towns in the county. 

Seth Savage was chairman of this convention ; William R. Joyslin, 
secretary. The secretaries of the permanent organization were B. B. 
Ockington and O. M. Twitchell. Some eight resolutions were 
passed against slavery and its extension, the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise, sectionalism, armed invasion of Missouri and Kansas, 
the national administration, endorsing the action of New Hampshire's 
representatives in congress relative to the election of speaker, and 
other measures. 

The first Republican town caucus was held Jan. 26, 1856, John 
H. White, chairman ; Henry O. Kent, secretary. 

Delegates to Connty Convention. — B. F. Whidden, S. W. Cooper, 
Charles Plaisted, and Seth Savage. 



234 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Delegates to State Convention. — J. Benton, S. W. Cooper, W. 
R. Stockwell, J. M. Whipple, and D. A. Bowe. 

At the March election Ichabod Goodwin, Whig, received for gov- 
ernor but four votes ; John S. Wells, Democrat, one hundred and 
three votes; Governor Metcalf, American or Republican, two hun- 
dred and sixty-one votes. The only Democrat that received any 
favor at the hands of Lancaster was William Burns, one of the best 
citizens of the town. He was elected state senator by a good ma- 
jority in the 12th District, and was reelected the following year. 

At the November election the fight was between the new Repub- 
lican party and the Democrats, destined to be the two parties of im- 
portance in the country for many a year to come. The Republican 
electors each received three hundred and one votes, while the 
Buchanan or Democratic electors, only received one hundred and 
thirty-six each. The tide had now turned. The Whigs and Free 
Soilers had united forces against the old Democratic party. There 
was not perfect harmony between these two wings of the new party. 
Still some lingering relics of the old strifes of the past lurked in 
them. 

Among the Independent Democrats, or Free Soilers, were such 
men as John H. White, Edwin F. Eastman, Edmund Brown, Samuel 
H. LeGro, George A. Cossitt, and others. Jacob Benton, as we 
have said, was the dominant leader of the Whig contingent of the 
new party. His associates were Royal Joyslin, William D. Spauld- 
ing, Richard P. Kent, Horace Whitcomb, Turner Stephenson, and 
other younger men. The leading Democrats were James M. Rix, 
George C. Williams, James W. Weeks, William Burns, William 
Heywood, A. J. Marshall, and J. A. Smith, with a considerable fol- 
lowing of younger men. 

The Republican party, as the champion of the anti-slavery senti- 
ment, now rapidly growing more popular and powerful every day, 
gathered to its support many young men of activity in Lancaster. 
They formed a semi-military company known by the name of 
" Wide Awakes," under Henry O. Kent as captain who had served 
as assistant clerk of the lower house of the legislature in 1855-56, 
and who later was chief clerk of the house in i857-'59, and Ossian 
Ray as lieutenant. This band did much to arouse interest in the 
new party. Their opponents tried to ridicule them into oblivion by 
casting reproaches upon their youthful ages ; but their tin horns 
were blown even more lustily; they sang patriotic songs, and 
marched in uniforms and with flying banners to no little advantage 
to their party. 

On December 20, 1856, a Republican club was organized in Lan- 
caster, with Benjamin F. Whidden, president. The vice-presidents 
were Jacob Benton, Edmund Brown, Albro L. Robinson, Charles 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 235 

Plaisted, and Thomas S. Hodgdon. Henry O. Kent, corresponding 
secretary ; William A. White, recording secretary. Executive com- 
mittee : Oliver Nutter, David B. Allison, Samuel F. Spaulding, 
Robert Sawyer, James S. Brackett, and Chapin C. Brooks. This 
club was an active body in the local campaigns, and did much to 
develop the phenomenal strength of the new party. 

The March meeting of 1857 saw the two parties. Democrat and 
Republican, squarely arrayed against each other in their first local 
contest. The candidates for governor that election were John S. 
Wells, one of the most prominent Democrats in the state, and Wil- 
liam Haile, Republican, a manufacturer new to politics. Haile re- 
ceived two hundred and eighty-one votes, and Wells one hundred 
and thirty-seven. Haile was elected. He was again his party's 
candidate in 1858, and elected again. He received in Lancaster 
two hundred and ninety-eight votes, while Asa P. Gate, Democrat, 
only received one hundred and sixteen. The new party gained 
the balance of power in town, and for some years held an even 
vote on almost all important offices. In the contest of 1859, the 
Republican vote numbered two hundred and ninety-four for governor; 
the Democrats secured one hundred and twenty-eight for Mr. Gate. 
George G. Williams, recently a Democrat, was sent to the legisla- 
ture as colleague of Seth Savage, Republican. 

From 1 86 1 to 1872 division and conflict existed within the domi- 
nant party, entailing important consequences. In the latter year a 
large and influential section, acting at first as independent, or "lib- 
eral " Republicans, with others of like mind, perfected a state organ- 
ization, and in November sustained a joint electoral ticket, with the 
Democrats for Greeley and Brown, running a complete state and 
congressional ticket at the March election of 1873, and formally 
uniting with the Democracy on a common platform and ticket in 
March, 1874. 

As the movement involved state and national politics, it is con- 
sidered here no farther than to refer to local candidates and results. 

In 1 86 1 was one of the hottest contests in the March meeting 
ever seen in town. Moody P. Marshall and Henry O. Kent were 
the Republican nominees for representatives, but a third Republican 
candidate was run. After two full days balloting there was no 
choice, and the town was unrepresented in the legislature. 

The candidates for governor were Nathaniel S. Berry, the old 
Free Soil leader, Republican, who received two hundred and ninety- 
five votes, and Gen. George Stark, descendant of the Revolutionary 
hero. Democrat, who received one hundred and thirty-nine votes. 

In 1862 the contest was intensified by discussion of the issues of 
the great Givil War then in progress. Governor Berry was again, 
the candidate with two hundred and eighty-six votes to one hundred 



236 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

and nine for General Stark. Paul J. Wheeler of Newport, who ran 
as a " War Democrat," received twenty-five votes. 

The Republican nominees for representatives were again Messrs. 
Marshall and Kent, and they were elected, there being but thirty-two 
Republican votes in opposition. 

The campaign of 1863 saw three state tickets, headed respectively 
by Joseph A. Gilmore (superintendent Concord railroad), Repub- 
lican, ex-Judge Ira A. Eastman, late of the supreme bench, Demo- 
crat, and Walter Harriman (afterward colonel, and brigadier-general 
of volunteers), "War Democrat." Gilmore had two hundred and 
ninety-eight votes, Eastman, one hundred and twenty-five, Harri- 
man, two. 

Moody P. Marshall and Samuel H. LeGro, Republicans, were 
chosen representatives by the usual party majority. 

In 1864 Governor Gilmore was again the Republican candidate 
with three hundred and four votes, and Edward W. Harrington of 
Manchester, Democrat, with one hundred and tw^enty-three votes. 

Samuel H. LeGro and Dr. James D. Folsom, Republicans, were 
elected representatives by the usual majorities. 

In 1865 Frederick Smyth and Edward W. Harrington, both of 
Manchester, were respectively the Republican and Democratic 
gubernatorial nominees, each polling the regulation party strength. 

Ossian Ray and Edward Spaulding were the Republican nomi- 
nees for the legislature, but William F. Smith, also a Republican, 
w^as run, and William F. Smith and Edward Spaulding were 
elected. 

In 1866 Governor Smyth was the Republican nominee, with three 
hundred and six votes, and John G. Sinclair, the Democratic nom- 
inee, with one hundred and thirty-three votes. 

After two days' balloting for representatives the town voted not 
to send. 

In 1867 there was a bitter contest for governor throughout the 
state between Walter Harriman and John G. Sinclair. In Lancas- 
ter Harriman had three hundred and twenty-three votes, and Sin- 
clair, one hundred and forty-two votes. 

Benjamin F. Whidden and Charles Plaisted, Republicans, were 
elected to the legislature. Jacob Benton was the nominee of the 
Republicans for congress, and Ossian Ray for the state senate. 

In 1868 Harriman received three hundred and sixteen votes for 
governor, and John G. Sinclair, two hundred and two votes. 

A successful effort was made by the Republicans to unite the 
party on representatives, and Henry O. Kent and Ossian Ray were 
nominated. Both were voted for on one and the same ballot, in- 
geniousl}^ arranged like this 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 237 



HENRY O. KENT. 
■AVH NVISSO 



SO that by turning the ballot from right to left, or left to right, would 
bring the name of the particular friend of any Republican voter on 
top. 

The candidates received the full party vote and were elected. 

At the presidential election in November the Grant electors re- 
ceived three hundred and fifty votes, and the Democratic electors, 
one hundred and fifty. 

In 1869, Onslow Stearns, Republican, superintendent of the 
Northern railroad, received three hundred and twenty-nine votes, 
and Gen. John Bedell of Bath, one hundred and fifty-three votes. 

Henry O. Kent and Ossian Ray were again representatives as 
before. Dr. John W. Barney of Lancaster, Democrat, was state sen- 
ator, and Josiah H. Benton, Jr., of Lancaster, assistant clerk of the 
house. 

The town had great weight and influence in the legislatures of 
1868 and 1869. The former year. Colonel Kent was chairman of 
the committee on railroads, and Mr. Ray, chairman of the commit- 
tee on elections. In 1869 Mr. Ray was chairman of the judiciary 
committee, and Colonel Kent chairman of the finance committee. 

These four committees largely shape legislation. Important 
schemes for railway development were pending, and as the outcome 
of the work of the sessions, the Concord & Montreal railroad was 
extended north from Littleton in 1869, reaching Lancaster in Octo- 
ber, 1870, and the Grand Trunk a year later. A new court-house 
at Lancaster was secured by vote of the delegation, and important 
changes in the statutes were considered and determined, em- 
bracing the application of the election laws to contested cases. 

In 1870 the Temperance party and the Labor Reform party were 
organized in the state. The Labor Reform people held meetings 
Feb. 28, 1870, addressed by John G. Crawford, who came to Lan- 
caster from Michigan in 1869, and who now resides in Manchester, 
and March 2 by Mr. Hayward of Worcester, Mass. 

Lancaster politics were unsettled and there were four candidates 
for governor; Governor Stearns had two hundred and thirty-five 
votes, John Bedel one hundred and twenty-seven votes, Samuel 
Flint of Lyme, Labor Reform, seventy-two votes, and Lorenzo Bar- 
rows, Prohibitionist, fifty-three votes. 

There was no choice of representative this year by reason of 
existing causes and this quadrangular gubernatorial contest. 



238 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The campaign of 1871 was a critical one in the state, and Lancas- 
ter was affected by the peculiar features of the contest. 

Rev. James Pike of Newmarket, a Methodist clergyman and 
former presiding elder, late colonel i6th N. H. V., and member of 
congress, was the Republican gubernatorial nominee with two hun- 
dred and fifty-seven votes, James A. Weston, ex-mayor of Man- 
chester, Democrat, one hundred and ninety-six votes, while Lemuel 
P. Cooper of Croydon, Labor Reform, and Albert G. Corning, Pro- 
hibitionist, had between them and a Mr. Walker, not a regular 
nominee, twenty-one votes. 

No candidate had a majority of the popular vote and the election 
going to the legislature, Weston was elected, the first Democrat to 
be governor since Nathaniel B. Baker in 1854. 

A union betvv^een Democrats and a portion of the Republicans 
elected James LeGro, a former Republican, and Benjamin F. Hunk- 
ing. Democrat, representatives, and so close was the house of rep- 
resentatives, that this delegation held the balance of power, electing 
William H. Gove, of Weare, speaker, and aiding to so fill the sena- 
torial vacancies in convention, as to make James A. Weston gov- 
ernor. 

In 1872 Governor Weston received two hundred and thirty-nine 
votes for governor, and Ezekiel A. Straw, of Manchester, the Repub- 
lican nominee, two hundred and ninety-nine votes, while thirty votes 
were divided between Lemuel P. Cooper, Labor Reform, and John 
Blackmer, Temperance candidates. 

John W. Spaulding and Seneca B. Congdon, Republicans, were 
elected representatives. 

The " Liberal Republican " party was this year organized in state 
and nation, the national convention being holden at Cincinnati, 
where Horace Greeley, the great editor, and ex-Gov. B. Gratz 
Brown, of Missouri, were selected as candidates for president and 
vice-president. 

Henry O. Kent was a delegate at large to this convention, mem- 
ber of the national committee, and chairman of the state committee, 
acting with Hon. John G. Sinclair, chairman of the Democratic state 
committee, in the management of the joint campaign, after the na- 
tional Democracy had endorsed the Cincinnati candidates, and a 
joint state electoral ticket had been nominated in separate state con- 
ventions of the Democratic and Liberal Republican parties. 

Grant and Colfax was the Republican national ticket nominated 
in the national convention at Philadelphia to which Ossian Ray was 
a delegate at large. 

Mr. Greeley was the guest of Henry O. Kent at Lancaster, 
August 12, 1872, and then addressed a great concourse from the 
porch of the Lancaster House. A mass meeting was organized in the 




IIOKACK (;i<KKI.EV IX LANCASTER, 187: 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 239 

Lancaster House grounds, William Burns, chairman, addressed by 
Hon. J. R. Doolittle of Wisconsin, and other distinguished leaders. 

At the November election the Grant electoral ticket had three 
hundred and four votes, and the Greeley ticket, two hundred and 
fifty-four. 

In 1873 the Liberal Republicans held a state convention, placing 
a full state and local ticket in the field. Samuel K. Mason, a law- 
yer of Bristol, was the nominee for governor. The old parties had 
the same candidates as before. Governor Straw polling two hundred 
and seventy votes, ex-Governor Weston, one hundred and ninety- 
two votes, Blackmer, fifty votes, and Mason, forty-six votes. 

John W. Spaulding and Seneca B. Congdon were again elected 
representatives by the Republicans. 

In 1874 General Luther McCutchins of New London, a well- 
known farmer, was nominated for governor by the Republicans. 
The Democrats and Liberal Republicans held state conventions at 
Concord on the same day, and through a committee of conference 
united upon a common platform and candidate, ex-Governor Wes- 
ton. Mr. Blackmer was again the Prohibition nominee. The 
union between Democrats and Liberal Republicans consolidating 
votes was successful ; Governor Weston being elected by a ma- 
jority of 1,465. The vote of Lancaster was McCutchins, two hun- 
dred and sixty-nine ; Weston, two hundred and sixty-three ; Black- 
mer, twenty. 

George S. Stockwell and Edward Savage, nominees of the Demo- 
cratic-Republican party, were elected representatives. 

It was the policy of the party thus formed to place as nominees 
on its ticket men whose antecedents were of both the former parties. 
In accordance with this policy, Hiram Roberts of Farmington( Dem- 
ocrat) was in 1875 nominated for governor, and Henry O. Kent of 
Lancaster (Liberal Republican) was nominated for congress in the 
third district. Person C. Cheney of Manchester was the Republican 
candidate for governor, and Nathaniel White of Concord the Pro- 
hibition candidate. Col. Henry W. Blair of Plymouth was Repub- 
lican nominee for congress in the third district. 

The canvass was a very heated one. Cheney and Blair were 
elected. In Lancaster the gubernatorial vote was Cheney, three 
hundred and thirteen ; Roberts, two hundred and ninety-three, and 
a small vote for White. 

Colonel Kent was defeated by a small majority and plurality, run- 
ning ahead of his ticket particularly in Coos county and Lancaster. 
He ran again in 1877, against Colonel Blair, and in 1878 against 
Major Evarts W. Farr, the latter being the first biennial election in 
the state, at each test running largely ahead of his ticket and espe- 
cially in his home county and town. 



240 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

John E. Dimmick and James McCarten, Republicans, were 
elected representatives by a strict party vote. 

The year 1876 was noted for political feeling and fervor. Gov- 
ernor Cheney was the Republican candidate for governor, with three 
hundred and twenty-nine votes. Capt. Daniel Marcy, of Ports- 
mouth, a retired sea captain and former member of congress, was 
the Democratic candidate with three hundred votes, while Asa Ken- 
dall, Prohibitionist, had fourteen votes. 

Dimmick and McCarten were again elected representatives. 

In November the Hayes electors received three hundred and 
twenty-nine votes, the Tilden electors two hundred and ninety-six 
votes, and there were sixteen scattering. 

Although William Clough, Francis Kellum, James W. Weeks, 
Samuel H. LeGro, and other Democrats had been elected select- 
men at times since 1861, it was not until 1877 that the town ofifices 
generally, were filled by Democrats. 

Benjamin F. Prescott of Epping was in 1877 Republican candi- 
date for governor with three hundred and six votes, while Daniel 
Marcy, Democrat, had three hundred and fourteen, and there were 
twenty-nine scattering. 

George S. Stockwell and Francis Kellum, Democrats, were elected 
representatives. 

The congressional vote was contested in a spirited manner by Col, 
Henry O. Kent, Democrat, and Col. Henry W. Blair, Republican. 
Lancaster gave Blair two hundred and seventy-six votes, and Kent 
three hundred and fifty-eight, with sixteen returned as scattering. 

The election of 1878 was the first held under the new constitu- 
tion which provided for biennial elections. A constitutional con- 
vention had been called in 1876, and framed the fourth constitution 
of the state. The late Hons. William Burns and Jacob Benton 
were the delegates from Lancaster to that convention. 

The ticket was a compromise one representing both parties. Mr. 
Burns had been his party's candidate for congress in 1859, 1861, 
and 1863, in the old Third district, always carrying a large vote, 
but failing of election by small majorities. Hon. Jacob Benton 
had been the successful Republican candidate for congress in 1867 
and 1869. 

This new order of things, with no state election in March and a 
November election every two years, was not calculated to lessen 
political agitation, but rather to increase it. It gave more time for 
organization and the selection of candidates. Much interest was felt 
in the November election under the new constitution. The Republi- 
can candidate for governor was Gen. Natt Head, who received two 
hundred and t\venty-eight votes in Lancaster, to three hundred and 
twenty-two for Frank A. McKean, Democrat. Asa S. Kendall was 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 24 1 

again the Prohibition party candidate, but no votes are recorded to 
his credit. Warren G. Brown of Whitefield, candidate of the new 
Greenback party, received ninety-nine votes. His entire vote in 
the state was 6,407. That party had an organization here, havincr 
met on Feb. 27, 1878. The leading men were: L. F Moore Zeb 
Twitchell, A. R. Tinkham, D. C. Pinkham, J. G. Crawford, D A 
Nevers, and George W. Garland. It cast a decreasing vote in the 
state for about six j^ears, when it passed from the arena. 

At this f^rst biennial election Jared I. Williams and William 
Clough, Democrats, were elected representatives. Mr. Williams, 
like Mr. Kellum, who was representative in 1877, was a Catholic' 
and held his seat in the house while the constitution prohibited 
Catholics from holding that ofifice. Whatever was said about the 
matter was in undertones, as the people of the state were heartily 
ashamed of the sectarian exclusion of a growing class of good citi- 
zens ; but it was not until 1889 that the last vestige of that intoler- 
ance was expunged from the constitution although it had been a 
dead letter for many years. The toleration act of seventy years 
before was only a half-way measure ; it left the state a Protestant 
Christian institution. The Catholic and Jew, no matter how good a 
citizen he was, or how much taxes he paid, was not allowed to parti- 
cipate in the affairs of state. He was not a party to self-o-overn- 
ment. He had a Protestant, Christian guardian appointed fSr him 
known as the state of New Hampshire. This lingering relic of the 
barbarous Middle Ages has finally passed away, and every intelli- 
gent citizen IS proud of the fact. The good sense of the commu- 
nity, and Its political practices in Lancaster were an age in advance 
of the constitution of the state ; and there was no valid ground for 
sectarian prejudice against that particular sect. The fact is that no 
man was excluded from full participation in the action of any 
party and emoluments of office, in Lancaster, on the ground that he 
was a Catholic. Lancaster has never had occasion to be ashamed 
of her Catholic population, or to distrust them. They are crood 
citizens, law-abiding and patriotic. When the call came for soldiers 
to defend the constitution and flag in 1861, the most devout of that 
sect were among the volunteers from Lancaster. They have never 
demanded anything at the hands of their neighbors on the crround 
of their peculiar faith. They participate in all the civil and p^olitical 
affairs of the town and state as citizens, their children are educated 
in the public schools, and they mingle with their Protestant neicrh- 
bors socially, and nobody stops to think of sectarian differences • 
long may it be before any change for the worse takes place 

Major Evarts W. Farr, congressman from this district, died in the 
late autumn of 1880. A vacancy thus occurring, a special election 
was ordered and held. Ossian Ray of Lancaster at once entered 



242 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the field as a candidate for the Republican nomination. Hons. Ira 
Colby, Levi W. Barton, and Chester Pike were also candidates. 
The convention was at West Lebanon, and Mr. Ray was nominated 
over all opposition on his forty-fifth birthday, viz., December 13, 
1880. His majority in the election following to fill out the unex- 
pired term of Major Farr from then till March, 1881, and to suc- 
ceed himself for two years thereafterwards, was more than 5,000 
over Jewett D. Hosley, of Lebanon, the Democratic candidate. He 
was re-elected in 1882. In his election Coos county gave him its 
first Republican majority, although Abraham Lincoln had carried 
the county by a plurality. In congress Mr. Ray was on the com- 
mittee of invalid pensions and of claims. He was largely instru- 
mental in securing a term of the federal court at Concord, and also 
in procuring an appropriation of $200,000 for a court-house and 
post-ofifice building at Concord ; also for $200,000 for a post-office 
at Manchester. He was active in reducing letter postage, abolishing 
duty on sugar, and in protecting all our own industries. 

In this campaign of 1880, Charles H. Bell was the Republican 
candidate for governor, Frank Jones of the Democratic party, War- 
ren G. Brown was again brought forward by the Greenback party, 
and George D. Dodge by the Temperance party. Bell carried 
three hundred and fifty votes in Lancaster, and Jones only one less. 
There were this year only two votes cast for other candidates, and 
they are recorded as " scattering." 

The vote on presidential electors stood : Garfield electors, three 
hundred and fifty-two, and Hancock electors, three hundred and 
forty-eight. 

The Democratic party this year named Frank Smith and Mat- 
thew Monahan as their candidates. The Republicans put for- 
ward Chester B. Jordan and James Monahan. After a hot contest 
Jordan defeated Smith by one vote. In the June session of 1881, 
Mr. Jordan was elected speaker of the house, a position he filled 
with dignity and ease. Mr. Jordan was destined to become an 
important factor, not only in town but state politics ; and if indi- 
cations are to be depended upon he will carry off the highest honors 
his state can confer upon one of its citizens. He will appear again 
upon the scene. 

The campaign of 1882 was an exciting time in Lancaster, as 
it was throughout the state. The candidates for governor were 
Samuel W. Hale, Republican ; Martin Van Buren Edgerly, Demo- 
crat. The Greenback and Temperance parties had candidates, but 
they are not mentioned in the returns in this town. Hale received 
three hundred and fourteen votes, and Edgerly three hundred and 
eighteen, while twenty votes were recorded as scattering. 

The Democratic party brought forward Col. Henry O. Kent 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 243 

and Judge William S. Ladd as candidates for representatives, and 
elected them by fair-sized majorities. Hon. Irving W. Drew, one 
of Lancaster's ablest lawyers, was this year elected to the state 
senate by a good majority as a Democrat. 

The contest of 1884 was not less vigorous in this town than that 
of the previous two elections. Being a presidential election it 
gave some added interest to the campaign. The hot contest 
between Blaine and Cleveland throughout the country served to 
arouse the voters of Lancaster to do their best for their respective 
party leaders at the polls. Blaine received three hundred and 
thirty votes, Cleveland three hundred and eighty-four, leaving 
twenty-five to go on record as scattering. This was practically the 
full vote of the town, strenuous efforts having been made to get 
every voter to the polls. 

The candidates for governor were Moody Currier, Republican, 
who received three hundred and thirty-two votes; John M. Hill, 
Democrat, who received three hundred and eighty-three. Twenty- 
five votes were recorded as scattering. 

Col. Henry O. Kent was this year elected to the state senate 
over William R. Danforth of Stratford, Republican. Colonel Kent 
received the appointment as naval officer of the port of Boston from 
President Cleveland in 1885, and entered upon his duties January i, 
1886, serving until May 20, 1890. 

Frank Smiith and Matthew Monahan, Democrats, were chosen 
representatives by the usual party majority. 

The contest of the next year, 1886, was less exciting, and not so 
large a vote was cast as in the two previous elections. The contest 
for the governorship was between Charles H. Sawyer, Republican, 
who carried three hundred and ninety-seven votes, and Thomas 
Cogswell, Democrat, who received three hundred and sixty-one. 
There was a number of votes set down in the returns as scatter- 
ing, which this year counted eleven. A spirited contest for state 
senator was waged between Hon. C. B. Jordan and Samuel E. Paine, 
of Berlin, the latter winning by a moderate majority, Mr. Jordan 
running largely ahead of his ticket. Charles A. Cleaveland and 
Robert McCarten, Democrats, were chosen as representatives. 

The next year, 1888, being also a presidential election, more inter- 
est was manifested in politics National questions cast their shad- 
ows over local ones and often changed their hues. The national 
contest was a warm one, involving great issues, much exaggerated, of 
course. It called out a large vote, eight hundred and sixteen in this 
town. 

The Republican party offered David H. Goodell as their candi- 
date for governor, who received three hundred and seventy-eight 
votes. Charles H. Amsden was the Democratic nominee, and car- 
ried off four hundred and thirty votes. 



244 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

For president Benjamin Harrison received three hundred and 
eighty votes. Grover Cleveland polled four hundred and twenty- 
seven. There were only two scattering votes. 

For representatives to the legislature Matthew Smith and John 
M. Clark, Democrats, were chosen. 

Lancaster had now been carried by the Democrats continuously in 
four elections, and that of 1890 approached. It lacked the added 
interest of a presidential election to call out a full vote ; only six 
hundred and sixty-seven of the more than eight hundred voters of 
the town came to the polls. The gubernatorial candidates were : 
Hiram A. Tuttle, Republican; Charles H. Amsden, Democrat. Tut- 
tle carried three hundred and eighty-one votes, and Amsden three 
hundred and seventy-six, leaving but ten votes to be returned as 
scattering. 

The town now had attained a population of 3,367, which entitled 
it to three representatives in the legislature. Joseph D. Howe, Pat- 
rick Small, and George Farnham, all Democrats, were elected. 

The campaign of 1892 was one of much excitement and of un- 
common interest in its local features. As usual with elections every 
four years, when national issues help to magnify the importance of 
the state and town questions, this year saw much more than a com- 
mon contest. Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison were again 
in the field. 

The Harrison electors received four hundred and twelve votes, 
while the Cleveland electors carried the town with four hundred and 
thirty. The Republican candidate for governor, John B. Smith of 
Hillsborough, received four hundred and six votes. Luther F. Mc- 
Kinney, Democrat, got four hundred and three. Edgar L. Carr, 
Prohibitionist, received fourteen votes. The Republicans elected 
their candidates for representatives. They were Willie E. Bullard, 
Alex M. Beattie, and Gilbert A. Marshall. The Republican party 
had returned to power on national issues. There were no local issues 
competent to turn the scale of party for many years past. 

The campaign of 1894 was one of much interest in Lancaster, as 
Col. Henry O. Kent was the Democratic candidate for governor. 
The Republicans brought forward Charles A. Busiel of Laconia, for 
many years a stalwart Democrat who had gone over to the Repub- 
lican party on the tariff doctrine, believing in a protective tariff. 
Lancaster was one of the chief battle-fields. Candidate Busiel, 
United States Senators Gallinger and Chandler, to say nothing of 
lesser lights of the Republican party, spoke before large and enthu- 
siastic audiences here. 

The Democrats cultivated their opportunities no less zealously, 
with the result that when the polls closed at the November election 
of that year, Kent received four hundred and sixty-four votes to 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 245 

four hundred and twelve for Busiel. The Prohibition party polled 
fourteen votes for Daniel C. Knowles. George D. Epps received 
five votes as candidate of the Labor party. Frank Smith, Demo- 
cratic candidate for the state senate, received four hundred and 
seventeen votes, while Thomas H. Van Dyke, Republican, carried 
four hundred and twenty-five. 

John L. Moore and James W. Truland, Republicans, and Wil- 
liam R. Stockwell, Democrat, were elected as representatives this 
year. 

In point of interest, excitement, and anxiety as to the results that 
might follow it, no election has surpassed that of 1896, in the his- 
tory of the town. Being a presidential election, great national 
issues were brought forward, and state and town politics were 
molded almost wholly by national questions. 

The Republican party presented for president William McKinley 
of Ohio and the Democratic convention nominated William J. Bryan 
of Nebraska, who received the endorsement of the Populists and 
Silver Republicans. John M. Palmer was the nominee of the " Na- 
tional Democrats," while the Temperance people had two tickets 
in the field. 

The vote in Lancaster was McKinley, 519; Bryan, 290; Palmer, 
18, and Prohibitionists, 8. 

George A. Hartford, George W. Lane, and James A. Monahan, 
Republicans, were elected representatives. 

No small share of the popular interest of this election was cen- 
tered about the state tickets. Colonel Henry O. Kent was again 
the Democratic candidate for governor. George A. Ramsdell was 
the Republican candidate. Kent received three hundred and ninety- 
two votes in Lancaster, and Ramsdell three hundred and ninety. 
There were over a thousand names on the check-list, but the highest 
vote cast was only 835. Many persons evidently did not vote. 
Ramsdell was elected by a majority of 2 1 ,007 over Kent, who ran 
ahead of the Democratic presidential ticket by 7,062 votes in the 
state, the adverse plurality against him being 16,119 votes less than 
against the presidential ticket. 

Another Lancaster man was up this year for the important office 
of state senator — Hon. C. B. Jordan, Republican. The Democratic 
candidate for the same office was Edward Herbert Weston, of 
Whitefield. Mr. Weston made a very vigorous canvass of the dis- 
trict; Mr, Jordan did not make a speech or leave his daily pursuits 
to canvass for support ; but when the vote was counted he ran 
ahead of his competitor by three hundred and nine votes in Lancas- 
ter, and in the district 1,413. 

Mr. Jordan's election was no more than announced when his 
friends brought his name forward as a candidate for president of the 



246 HISTORY OF Lx\NCASTER. 

senate, which honor came to him by a unanimous vote of the senate. 
This office he has filled with commendable dignity and to the entire 
satisfaction of that body. 

Since biennial elections under the constitution of 1878, the town- 
meetings in March have become gradually less political ; less under 
the control of party management than before. Affairs are con- 
ducted on a business and prudential basis instead of on a political 
and partisan one as before the separation of the state elections from 
the town-meeting. The parties still hold their caucuses, but some- 
times they come together on a single ticket for selectmen, town 
clerk, treasurer, and other minor offices. This in no way interferes 
with bringing independent candidates before the meetings for any 
office. This arrangement has been an advantage to the town as 
it secures less interference with strictly business affairs. 



CHAPTER XX. 
POETS AND POETRY OF LANCASTER. 

The life of a community is not all told in prose. We live in vain 
if the muse comes not to some of our number, and with her magic 
touch awakens the inspiration of song, to soothe and cheer the tried 
and often disconsolate soul. Life is not to be measured alone in the 
currency of the market-place. Truth, like the shield, has two sides. 
The one is often plain and prosaic, while, if we be able to turn the 
other side in the light of an inspiration, it maybe pleasing and beau- 
tiful to a wonderful degree. It would have been strange if all this 
beauty that fills the landscapes, the sky, the homes and lives of Lan- 
caster, had not found some expression in verse or color. 

The natural scenery is unsurpassed, and the life of the community 
has not been devoid of that culture, refinement of taste and inspira- 
tion that appeal to the imagination and taste of men, breaking forth 
in songs of melody or color. 

There have been a number of persons who have written verse of 
some worth, entitling them to recognition in the history of their 
town, whether they were born here, or happened to write here under 
inspiration that was peculiarly local. Col. Henry O. Kent and Nellie 
Cross (now Mrs. Henry W. Dennison of Yokohama, Japan) were 
born in Lancaster, while Albert Kimball, Rev. George Osgood, and 
Mrs. J. B. Harris were residents of Lancaster for only a short pe- 
riod, though these latter wrote under the inspiration that came to 
them here, and nothing would have called forth the same verses 
elsewhere. Their poems, here inserted, are for that reason essen- 



POETS AND POETRY OF LANCASTER. 247 

tially of Lancaster, and are entitled to a place in the anthology of 
the town. 

A portion of the poetry that I should have liked to insert here 
will be found in Part II, in the chapter on the " Centennial Celebra- 
tion of the Settlement of the Town." They could not be taken out 
of their natural settings in that chapter, as they form a part of it, and 
the reader is referred to it for poems of Henry O. Kent and Mrs. 
Mary B. C. Slade. 

FREMONT.* 
By Henry O. Kent. 

Fremont, Fremont, H is a name that thrills 

The free of our native land, 
That echoes in glee from our eastern hills, 

And the state of the golden sand. 

Fremont, Fremont, 't is a nation's shout 

That rings unchallenged wide ; 
Aye well the battle-cry peals out 

For God and Freedom's side. 

Fremont, Fremont, 't is a name for all, 

From South to frozen North ; 
Fremont, 'tis the spell that bursts the thrall; 

That bids the right go forth. 

Fremont, on no disunion flag. 

Doth that name proudly wave ; 
It speaks of deeds by stream and crag, 

It rings from patriot's graves. 

Disunion, oh, we spurn the cry 

And fling it back in scorn ; 
Bright gleams above, our Eagle's eye 

To victory sweeping on. 

What ! did our sires whose blood bedews 

The height of Bunker Hill, 
Whose shoeless feet tracked Jersey's snows. 

And crimsoned Eutaw's rill 

Fight, that the spirit of the free 

Should sink at last o'erpowered? 
And dying, bleeding liberty 

Fall 'neath oppression's rod ? 

Did congress in their glorious might 

Within that grand old hall. 
Mean it a farce, when they wrote 

Of ' ' equal rights to all ? " 

*This song was set to music by Ellen A. White, daughter of Col. John H. White and sung 
through the stirring campaign of 1856. 



248 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Then peal the cry, the battle-cry 
From Maine to Texas' shore ; 

Aye, let our anthem echo high, 
The Union sweeping o'er ! 

A feeling warm for our brothers all 
Amid the sunny South ; 

And a pledge anew, to the firm and true. 
Of the stern unchanging North. 

A shout for Union, loud and strong, 
A shout for Kansas free ; 

Aye, a thundering cheer our ranks along, 
Fremont and Victory ! 



THE OLD WILLOW.* 
By Nellie W. Cross (now Mrs. Henry W. Dennison). 

Graceful willow, tall and stately. 

Queen of all our village trees. 
Taking May's sweet bloom, sedately 

Swaying in the gentle breeze ; 
What a tale your leaves might flutter. 

If, like Delphi's priestess fair. 
We could hear the words they utter, 

Trembling in the evening air. 

What a calm, unvarnished story, 

Free from mortal hopes and fears ; — 
Like a patriarch, wise and hoary. 

You could tell of vanished years ; 
What a tale of autumn splendor. 

What a dream of summer dead, 
Sighs for Spring's caresses tender 

Lavished on your stately head. 

What a tale of joy and sadness. 

Could you tell each passing scene. 
Changes fraught with grief and gladness. 

Since your branches first were green ; 
Ernest youth and happy maiden 
y That have loitered 'neath your shade ; 

Weary hearts, with cares o'erladen. 

Careless children that have played ; 

* The Old Willow stood in front of the Lancaster House, and was the pride of the village. It 
was killed by the burning of that hotel Sept. 27, 1878, and was cut down Jan. 27, 18S1. This was 
the last of a row of Lombardy poplars and willows that Judge Richard C. Everett, the grandfather 
of Nellie W. Cross, had set out from the court-house to the south line of the lot to the south line 
of present Foundry St., about the year 1800. Judge Everett then owned all the land on that side 
of the street between the two points above named. 

Through the kindness of Erdix T. Wilson, of Barton, Vt., we are able to present in this book a 
reproduction of a photograph of the old willow taken when he was a photographer here. The late 
Richard P. Kent was standing under the tree. 







The Old Willow, near Lancaster House. 

Destroyed by Fire of 187S. 



POETS AND POETRY OF LANCASTER. 249 

Since from yonder verdant meadow, 

Where the rippling waters flow, 
You were brought for grace and shadow 

More than sixty years ago ; 
Still the blue skies bend above you, ' 

On your limbs green mosses cling, 
Spring's first sunshine seems to love you 

In your boughs the robins sing. 

So, while Time his march is keeping. 

Conquering all we loved and knew. 
May you watch the years retreating, 

Like a sentinel, firm and true ; 
And when mortals die around you. 

Seasons fade and years go by ; 
With the glory age has crowned you. 

May your branches greet the sky. 



MAY. 

BY NELLIE W. CROSS. 

Yes ; May is coming o'er the hills, 
Her eyes all bright with daisies. 

Her hands with opening blossoms fiUed- 
The theme of poet's praises. 

And as I watch her lingering steps. 
And hear her soft winds playing. 

My mind went wandering o'er the years 
To when I went a-Maying. 

Again, with many hopes and fears. 

Forgetful how time passes, 
I join upon the village green 

The many lads and lasses. 

Again, the wild bees' drowsy hum 

Is floating o'er the meadow ; 
Again, I hear the whispering trees. 

And watch their waving shadows. 

Again, I sing the sweet old songs. 
And hail the bright spring weather; 

Again, I wander o'er the hills, 
Jenny and I together. 



And though long years have passed since then. 

And we grown strangely sober, 
As May's sweet lingering light 

Gives place to life's October. 



250 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

When Spring comes smiling o'er the hills, 
Old paths my heart will stray in ; 

With Jenny by my side again, 
I seem to go a-Maying. 



THE SUNSET BURIAL. 

BY REV. GEORGE OSGOOD.* 

Can we forget the holy hour 

When on the hillside green, 
All gleaming bright with leaf and flower 

The rain drops clear were seen? 

When landscapes in their summer bloom 
Seemed bathed in lovliest light, 

As hung in folds the clouds of gloom. 
Along the mountain's height? 

Can we forget the prayers we breathed. 

The tender tears we shed. 
The sweet and stainless flowers we wreathed 

For one whose soul had fled? 

Forget her, as her spirit passed 

In beauty, peace, and love. 
To rest, from weariness and pain, 

To happier scenes above? 

Oh, no ! her face, sweet and serene. 

Shall rise before our sight, 
As when, in placid smiles, was seen 

Her spirit's lingering light — 

Then shall our hearts be pure and good. 

As we remember still. 
That by her dying bed we stood. 

And on the burial hill. 



TO MY BROTHER. 

BY MRS. J. B. HARRIS. 

From that now cherished home 
A thought does sometimes stray, 
O'er the dim, distant hills. 
Where the bright waters play, 

* The author of this poem, now living at Kensington, N. H., says : "It was suggested by the 
burial of Maria Crawford, daughter of Thomas J. Crawford of White Mountain fame, but living dur- 
ing his last days at Lancaster; Sunday, July 24, 1S63, after a day of showers, as we were grouped 
around the grave, when all the shrubs were brilliant in the sunlight, and the White Mountains were 
robed in clouds as if mourning for their child." The Rev. Mr. Osgood was then pastor of the 
Unitarian church. 



POETS AND POETRY OF LANCASTER. 25 I 

To waken sweet thoughts 

Of Ufa's sunny morn, 

Where we played 'mong the hills, 

And the forest birds sang. 

I think of thee, brother. 

The long, weary day ; 

Tho' thine eye has grown dim, 

Thy locks turning gray ; 

And my heart wanders out. 

When the stars are asleep. 

To kiss thee good-night, brother. 

Good-night, ere I sleep. 

When I sit down to play 
Some sweet favorite air, 
I miss one loved chord 
I may never more hear ; 
'Tis lost on the breeze, 
^Mong the hills far away,. 
Like the notes of the harp. 
Which the wild winds play. 

Fond memory points, 

With a tear in her eye. 

To the cold tide that has borne 

My loved ones away. 

But the bright star of hope 

Shines yet to illumine 

Our pathway of tears 

Through the dark, chilling gloom. 



GONE BACK TO HEAVEN. 

BY ALBERT KIMBALL. 

Lay him to rest in his little bed, 

Not where he lately was wont to lie. 

But give him a couch 'mong the quiet dead. 
With never a murmured lullaby. 

Darling Ally is wrapped in sleep — 
Calmest slumber that mortal knows — 

And none to his side with a smile shall creep, 
To awake his limbs from their long repose. 

The lids have fallen in dark eclipse 

Over those orbs once bright with glee ; 

A beautiful palor is on the lips. 

Their marble sweetness is sad to see. 

The golden tint of the hair has flown ; 

The fair, round forehead is damply chill ; 
The dainty hand is a thing of stone. 

The heart of the sleeper is hushed and still. 



252 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

God ! Can it be that the life has passed 
Out from the beautiful form of clay? 

That only the casket is left at last. 

And the spirit immortal has soared away? 

That never again on this earthly shore 
Dear Ally's innocent laugh shall ring? 

His artless prattle no longer pour. 

That sounded sweeter than birds of spring 

That never again shall the lashes rise — 
Downy lashes, how soft they seem ! 

Gently veiling those deep blue eyes 

That lighted a home with their cloudless beam? 

That never again shall the cherub face 
On loving bosom for rest recline? 

And never again, in close embrace. 

Sorrowing mother, be pressed to thine? 

These are the thoughts that surge and roll, 
And burst to tears in the tempests swell ; 

While out over the waves of the troubled soul 
Comes the dismal voice of the tolling bell. 

Oh, it is hard for the heart to bear ! 

But the cup so bitter we may not shun ; 
Still we'll utter our humble prayer, 

" Father in Heaven, Thy will be done." 



LINES. 

[Dedicated to the family of the late Lieut. John G. Lewis.* By Albert Kimball.] 

Tolls the bell in solemn tones. 

Telling with its muffled breath 
Tales at which the spirit moans 

O'er the victories of death, — 
Death, whose sway encircles all. 

Making slaves of proudest kings, 
When the fatal shadows fall 

Of dread Azrael's sable wings. 

Slowly moves the funeral train. 

And with sad, reluctant tread. 
Breaking heart, and burning brain, 

March the living with the dead. 
Die those hearts to earthly hope, 

Bruised by traitor's chastening rod, 
As the dusty portals ope. 

For that loved and lifeless clod. 

*John G. Lewis was first lieutenant of Company H, 9th N. H. Volunteers. He was killed in the 
battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December, 1S62. His body was brought home and buried in the old 
cemetery, with Masonic Rites, Dec. 18, 1S62. 



POETS AND POETRY OF LANCASTER. 253 

How the soul sinks down, and down, 

Into realms of deepest gloom, 
When cruel death's awful frown 

Wakes the terrors of the tomb ; 
When a dear one's clay is cold, 

In its narrow mansion hid, 
And when other clay is rolled 

Heavy on the coffin's lid. 

'Tis a soldier's fate we weep, 

'T is a soldier's grave we scan, — 
Let the gallant Lewis sleep, 

Undisturbed by warring man ! 
Far from battle's strife and din, 

Mid the smiling scenes of peace, 
Here the hero enters in 

Where his toils forever cease. 

Here — 'mong old familiar ways, 

Sweet with joys that could not pall 
In the bright, unclouded days. 

Ere he heard his country's call 
Call him forth with stern alarm, 

Where the waves of conflict rose. 
Bade him raise his loyal arm 

'Gainst her fierce and haughty foes, — 

Here, where home had arched its sky, 

Where its light made all things dear. 
Where loved faces blest his eye, 

And loved voices charmed his ear. 
Where warm friendship and regard 

Round them wove their Mystic Tie, — 
Here his fame can ne'er be marred, 

He7-e his memory shall not die. 

Here affection's tongue will tell. 

Half with pity, half with pride. 
How the patriot martyr fell 

By the Rappahannock's side. 
When the hellish missile broke. 

Charged with death, and pain, and woe, 
How he met the mortal stroke 

Bravely, as he faced the foe. 

God of Heaven ! at Thy command, 

When shall war and carnage end? 
When shall man with bloodless hand 

Greet his brother as his friend ? 
When shall Moloch's reign be o'er? 

When shall Right assume her throne. 
And our slighted flag once more 

Wave, unrivaled, and alone? 

God of Heaven ! to Thee we call 
In our nation's trying hour, — 



254 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Give us grace to suffer all, 

Give us purpose, give us power ! 

Lead our wavering steps aright. 
Guard and guide us from above. 

Through the darkness of the night. 
To the dawn of peace and love. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
EARLY MAILS, POST RIDERS, AND POST-OFFICES. 

Mails, Post Riders, and Post-offices. There were arrangements 
for communication by letter before 1692, in some of the more 
thickly settled colonies of New England. On Feb. 17, 1692, King 
William and Queen Mary constituted Thomas Neale postmaster- 
general for the colonies; and 17 10, an Act of Parliament estab- 
lished a uniform system for all. When this plan had been in ope- 
ration more than sixty years, Benjamin Franklin was appointed 
postmaster-general ; but his conduct gave offense to the king, and 
he was removed in 1774. Immediately one William Goddard 
planned what he called a " Constitutional Postofifice," and the colo- 
nial congress adopted it July 26, 1775, with Franklin as postmas- 
ter-general. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution 
gave congress full power over the post-oflfices of the country. In 
1790, congress took action on the matter continuing the post-ofifice 
as it had been conducted under Franklin. Two years later congress 
fixed the rates of postage, which were : 

"For every single letter, conveyed by land, not exceeding forty miles, eight 
cents. Over forty, and not exceeding ninety miles, ten cents. Over ninety 
miles, and not exceeding one hundred and fifty miles, twelve and a half cents. 
For one hundred and fifty miles, and not to exceed three hundred, fifteen cents. 
For three hundred miles, and not to exceed four hundred, twenty cents. For 
four hundred miles, and not to exceed five hundred, twenty-five cents. For every 
double letter, or a letter composed of two pieces of paper, double the above rates. 
For every package weighing one ounce, or more, at the rate of four single 
letters for each ounce. Newspapers, one cent each, when not exceeding one 
hundred miles, but not to exceed one cent each in the state in which they are 
published." 

With these extravagant rates were also established some very 
stringent rules. A letter or parcel had to be deposited in the post- 
office a half hour before the time for the mail to depart or else it 
had to lay over until the next mail. All letters and packages to 
and from the president and vice-president of the United States, and 
certain other officers, passed free of postage. Mail was delivered to 
parties to whom it was addressed and an account kept with them, 
and a bill was presented once a quarter for collection. The entire 



EARLY MAILS, POST RIDERS AND POST-OFFICES. 255 

revenue from postage, for many years, constituted the pay of the 
post rider. Later the postmaster received a share of it ; and not 
until near the end of the first quarter of this century did he collect 
the postage on its own account. 

Under these old arrangements for carrying the mails in colonial 
days, Lancaster was not affected. There were no post riders until 
the beginning of the present century. For over thirty years the first 
settlers had to get their letters from here to other points by persons 
who happened to be going to those places they wished to commu- 
nicate with ; and letters reached Lancaster in the same slow and 
uncertain way. I have before me a letter sent by Edwards Buck- 
nam to Jonathan Grant, who was then attending a term of court at 
Plymouth, that went as far as Littleton, and from there the carrier 
of it changed his mind and went to Portland, from which point he 
next went to Exeter. From there he sent the letter to Charlestown 
by another party going there on business. There it laid for over 
two months before there was an opportunity to send it to Haver- 
hill, N. H., by another party. 

After another month it was sent to Plymouth, and had it not 
fallen, accidentally, into the hands of a friend of Mr. Grant, who for- 
warded it to him in Alban}/, N. Y., there is no telling if he would 
ever have received it. It could not have reached the sender, unless 
some one had violated the laws in opening it, for there was no other 
way to find out from whom it came. Through the carelessness, and 
sometimes dishonesty, of such carriers valuable letters often were 
lost or stolen, to the loss and inconvenience of the senders of them. 
Not infrequently people did not dare to take the risk of sending 
important information, especially in times of war, for fear their letters 
would be stolen, or rifled of their contents. Then the high rates 
of postage made it necessary for people to write as seldom, and as 
short letters, as possible. He was not a true friend, in those days 
when money was so scarce, who would write double letters, and too 
often, for it would subject the receiver of them to considerable cost 
to pay for them. 

An instance of those days, where a bill for goods, that should 
have been packed with the articles, was forwarded by mail to 
Richard P. Kent, with unpaid postage of 18 3-4 cents. The mer- 
chant inveighed against such needless extravagance, and protested 
that he "could not be burdened with postage to such an enormous 
amount" as the correspondent's method entailed. 

The writing material of those early days was crude. There were 
no envelopes in which to inclose letters. They were written on 
sheets of rough, hand-made paper, and so folded as to keep the 
writing out of sight. There were many ingenious methods of fold- 
ing to make them neat, strong, and safe. They were held together 



256 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

by wafers or melting a bit of sealing wax and dropping it upon the 
edges or corners where they overlapped. Among the many old 
letters that have fallen into my hands there is one from a young 
lady of one of the " first families" of the settlement to her lover, 
which was sealed with hard boiled maple sugar. Whether that act 
was symbolical of the "sweet nonsense" it contained, or whether 
she had no sealing wax, I cannot say. The missive was written in 
what, I believe, was the first attempt at poetry in Lancaster ; and but 
for its crudenesss I should be tempted to give it here as such 
example. It was rather a matter of the heart than of the intellect. 

When Lancaster received its first mail at the hands of a regular 
mail carrier, we cannot say ; but so far as we have any authentic 
information the first mail carrier, or post rider, to this section, was one 
William Trescott of Danville, Vt., who rode the district in 18 12. 
We find an old advertisement, published in Athol, Mass., in which 
he called upon subscribers in Lancaster who wished to pay for their 
papers in produce to leave it at Carlisle's store. His route laid 
through Danville, St. Johnsbury, and Barnet, in Vermont; Littleton, 
N. H., Concord, Waterford, and Lunenburg, Vt., and Lancaster. He 
was at the time an old man over sixty years of age, and rode a little 
short and spiritless black horse, which was also quite old. Trescott 
was by trade a sieve maker, and used to carry, on his trips on the 
mail route, a lot of the rims for his sieves strung on the neck of his 
horse. These he bartered at his stopping places, and to some 
extent along the road. He was a quaint figure in a broad-rimmed 
hat and brown coat, mounted upon a pair of saddle-bags full of 
mail with his overcoat rolled up and strapped on behind his saddle. 

The first postmaster in Lancaster was Stephen Wilson, the mer- 
chant at the north end of the street. Just when he received his 
appointment is not known with any degree of certainty ; but we 
have certain knowledge of the fact that he was postmaster in 1803 ; 
and that at that time the mail came from Haverhill, N. H., which 
was the nearest ofifice. From there it was carried on horseback, as 
we have described it, at the hands of Mr. Trescott. Whether 
another preceded him is very uncertain. At the time referred to 
his route had grown to include several new ofifices that had been 
established near the line between these two northernmost ones. 

Col. Stephen Wilson held his office until 1807, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Abram Hinds, then a lawyer practising here. He was 
later register of deeds. Mr. Hinds held the office for a term of five 
years, and was succeeded by another lawyer, S. A. Pearson. Mr. 
Pearson kept the ofiice in his law ofifice, in the home of the late 
H. A. Fletcher, on Main street. He was a very popular postmaster, 
and held the office for seventeen years, the longest term it has ever 
been held by any man here. During his incumbency, about 1825, 



EARLY MAILS, POST RIDERS, AND POST-OFFICES. 257 

the mails began to arrive twice a week from Haverhill. By this 
time the roads had become good enough to justify the use of a two- 
horse wagon in carrying the mail. This arrangement served a 
double purpose ; the mail carrier could carry an occasional passen- 
ger and small bundles between the several points on his route, which 
was a common practice, and no doubt was the germ of the wonder- 
ful express system of transportation for small articles, now so much 
in use. 

In the second issue of the White Mountain ^gis, June 29, 
1838, we find this advertisement: 

"Lancaster, Littleton, Haverhill, Hanover and Lowell Mail Stage. Throuc-h 
in two days ! The southern mail will leave Lancaster every Tuesday, Thursday 
and Saturday, at 5 o'clock a. m. and arrive at Haverhill same day, in season for 

the Telegraph Mail down Connecticut River. This arrangement will make a 

direct hne from Lancaster to Lowell, Mass., in two days by way of Hanover. 
Returning, leaves every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and arrives at Lancas- 
ter next day, at 5 p. m. 

"L. A. Russell & Co., Proprietors. 
" Littleton, May 29, 1838." 

The following description of the arrival of mails, the postmasters, 
the post-ofifices and the distribution of mails I find, from the pen of 
Lieut. James S. Brackett, in the Lancaster Gazette in 1885, and 
give it here as it presents us a vivid picture of things as they 
appeared to a young lad, over sixty years ago : 

"Fifty years ago the mail was brought from Haverhill in a barouche drawn by 
two horses. The barouche was succeeded by the more pretentious and elegant 
coach drawn by four horses, and the Jehu who handled the lines and with mi<rhty 
flourish and crack of whip reined in the fiery steeds at the post-office door,''and 
with pride and pomp whirled his panting, foaming team around to the hotel 
where, with politeness and dignity, he handed down the passengers, was the envy 
of all the boys who stood agape and witnessed the wonderful feat. 

"Those were days of simplicity in the country towns, and the arrival and 
departure of the mails three times in each week were occasions of moment 
Some anxious hearts were in waiting to hear from absent friends or the news from 
distant places, but there was no rush to the 'delivery' as now; the postmaster 
took with care the letters and papers from the mail-bag, and called the name of 
each person who had the fortune to receive a letter or package, and if the person 
was present it was handed out to him ; if not, the package was put into a drawer 
or laid upon a shelf or table to await the time it should be called for. After a 
while it was found convenient to have letter ' pigeon-holes ' constructed and 
arranged alphabetically that time might be saved in looking over the accumula- 
tion, as a paper or letter might be required. Postage was not prepaid as nowa- 
days, but the postmaster charged the amount due on a package to the receiver 
if he was known and able to pay his debts, and once a quarter presented his bill' 
If the receiver was a stranger or an impecunious individual, the posta<^e was 
required before delivery. ^ 

"Dr. Benjamin Hunking was the first postmaster whom I remember succeed- 
ing Samuel A. Pearson in 1829. Dr. Hunking was an earnest and consistent 
18 



258 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Jacksonian Democrat, and for that reason was appointed to the office of post- 
master. For several years the office was kept in the house where he lived, now 
known as ' Elm Cottage.' The mail matter was so limited that the little closet 
in his sitting-room sufficed for the reception of all that came or went, and when a 
letter was called, the doctor, and in his absence, any member of the family, 
would go to that small closet, look over the letters and papers and hand out the 
required package. The doctor, owing to professional and other business, soon, 
however, appointed as his deputy Reuben L. Adams, a man well and favorably 
known in this vicinity ; whereupon the office was moved down street, and kept for 
a while in a little room at the south end of the front piazza of the house built by 
Harvey Adams, which afterward became the property of Presbury West, and is now 
owned and occupied by Nelson Sparks, corner of Main and Elm streets. In 1842 
Dr. Hunking resigned, ' rather,' he said, 'than be removed from office,' and the 
appointment of Mr. Adams was secured. 

"When Gen. Taylor became president, Robert Sawyer, being a Whig, and 
quite ardent in his political faith, was given the post-office. It was at that time 
considered quite singular that a man who had so recently become a resident of 
the town should receive the appointment, but Mr. Sawyer discharged his duties 
to the general satisfaction of the citizens. Of course when Franklin Pierce, New 
Hampshire's favorite son, assumed the administration, Mr. Sawyer ' stepped 
down and out,' and Harvey Adams, who had always been a Democrat, a native of 
the town, and a very respectable citizen, succeeded to the office of postmaster. 
An office was fixed up in what is now the Shannon building, and presided over 
by his daughter, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. James A. Smith having rendered 
important service to the party was next made postmaster and performed its duties 
well. 

" Royal Joyslin, an old-time Whig, who had long resided in town and been 
identified with its interests, and a man of sterling integrity, was appointed post- 
master under President Lincoln. Mr. Oliver Nutter, who had been in town but 
a few years, a Republican, was appointed in place of Mr. Joyslin. He was suc- 
ceeded by John W. Spaulding, and he by Charles E. Allen." 

Such was the post-office and its management in the days that 
have gone by, and the Hke of which will never be seen again. 
Lancaster is now within eight hours of the metropolis of New Eng- 
land by mail, and the telegraph and telephone have brought it within 
speaking-distance of the whole nation. No community is now left 
to itself as in former times. If any improvement is made in the 
means of communicating information it affects the whole country at 
once. 

As the railroads approached Lancaster it began to receive daily 
mails in 1850, when the stage lines could make daily trips; and 
when the Concord & Montreal railroad reached Lancaster in 1870, 
mails began arriving twice, and soon four times, a day. With the 
completion of the Maine Central Railroad in 1890, the mail service 
was twice that of the previous twenty years, giving the town as good 
mail facilities as could be desired. 

In 1886 a post-ofifice was established at South Lancaster, with E. 
A. Steele postmaster. In the latter part of that same year a post- 
ofhce was established at the " Grange," at East Lancaster, with Wil- 
liam G. Ellis as postmaster. These ofhces have been a great con- 



EPIDEMICS THAT HAVE VISITED THE TOWN. 259 

venience to the people living in the remoter parts of the town, and 
in towns adjoining. 

The southwestern portion of the town gets its mail at " Scotts " in 
Dalton, while a large portion of Guildhall and Lunenburg in Ver- 
mont, and Northumberland and Jefferson in New Hampshire, use 
the post-ofTfice at Lancaster village. 



CHAPTER XXIL 

SOME EPIDEMICS OF DISEASES THAT HAVE VISITED THE 

TOWN. 

It is a common tradition that the early settlers of Lancaster were 
a very healthy class of people ; that very little sickness existed for 
many years, and that perhaps seldom serious in character and 
results. All those claims may well be true, because none but the 
most healthy and rugged sort of people would have thought of 
undertaking life in* a wilderness so remote from all sources of relief 
as the town then was. That their descendants for one or two gen- 
erations were almost as hardy and healthy as themselves was no 
doubt equally true. It would have been strange if it had not 
been so. 

The conditions of life in a new country were always favorable to 
health. The people were compelled to lead an active and abstemi- 
ous, out-door life. There was little or no excitement upon which to 
fritter away their nervous energies after their periods of labor. All 
worked hard ; but if they suffered from muscular fatigue, healthy 
food and rest, for which they had abundant leisure, would restore 
them again soon, and even leave them stronger for the severe and 
continuous exercises incident upon a pioneer life. There was no 
idleness with its vices and excesses that blight the life of a people 
as nothing else does. If attacked by disease their abundant vitality 
enabled them to make a speedy and favorable recovery with none 
but the simplest of remedies, if indeed they always had so much as 
that. Accidents, for various and obvious reasons, we are inclined 
to think were fewer among them than among us of to-day. In fact, 
there was less opportunity for accidents. The people of those early 
times used fewer vehicles and machinery than we do ; their houses 
were generally one-story cabins ; they had almost no calls to ex- 
pose themselves to the dangers of accidents commonly known to us. 

As communities grow older and larger they produce changes in 
the conditions of life that foster certain diseases and vices that prey 
upon the vitality and character of men. When the population was 
widely scattered over a comparatively larger area than now, filth 



26o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

did not accumulate rapidly enough to pollute the air, the water, and 
the food with the germs of disease. If, through ignorance, care- 
lessness, or by accident, one family was attacked by a contagious 
disease the conditions were against its spread to other families. 
Every family had its own water supply in some convenient spring 
or well ; there were no dishes or utensils used by scores of people 
in common, as at present; there were few places of public resort, 
or promiscuous gathering to scatter disease. As a consequence 
there were for many years no contagions to devastate the popu- 
lation. 

In 1839 Capt. John W. Weeks wrote a sketch of Lancaster in 
which he said of dyspepsia : " Dyspepsia with its languid and down- 
cast look is beginning to make its appearance among us ; but as 
farming and gymnastic exercises are becoming again fashionable, 
it is hoped that disorder will soon be as little known as it was among 
our fathers." In that hope, however, the captain was reckoning 
without proper assurance, for that disease has always been pre- 
valent. 

JEpidemics of Small Pox. — In the Provincial Papers, Vol. 6, page 
794, I find that the general court, on Friday, June 26, 177 1, acted 
upon a petition from the selectmen of Lancaster relative to small 
pox. The town records do not show that it was of sufificient mag- 
nitude to call for a record of their action, nor did the action of the 
general court seem to indicate that the outbreak was a very serious 
one, although the disease was at that time quite prevalent in vari- 
ous sections of New England. In 181 1 the disease broke out 
again. This time it was alarming enough to justify calling a town- 
meeting at the meeting-house on August 26, to take action with 
respect to authorizing some one to " inoculate, and to establish one 
or more pest-houses." Constable Reuben Stephenson and John 
Wilson (the latter was not an ofificer) personally notified the one 
hundred and one to appear at the meeting, as above stated. It 
was voted : 

" To erect a hut or camp in the jail-yard and confine to said limits persons and 
their families when afflicted. 

" That the town request the Court of Common Pleas to license Dr. Benjamin 
Hunking as a physician to attend the houses that may be erected." 

There were several cases, none of which was fatal. By prompt 
action it was stamped out in a short time, and did not spread 
beyond the limits of the village after the confinement of the cases in 
the pest-house in the jail yard. It was not necessary to urge pre- 
caution as the people held it in great fear, more, probably, on 
account of the disfigurations it left than the fatality of the disease. 
So great was the fear that it was often impossible to secure com- 



EPIDEMICS THAT HAVE VISITED THE TOWN. 26 1 

petent nurses for the persons sick with it ; and the physician who 
attended a case was not Hkely to get any other calls while there was 
any danger of the spread of the disease. In consequence of this 
fear he generally remained with his small-pox patients until they 
recovered or died, then disinfected himself and went back to his 
other patients. During the period intervening between that out- 
break of the disease and the next one in 1849, there were several 
scares over alarms that went the rounds that small-pox had broken 
out; but they were unfounded. 

In 1849 Stephen Hovey, living then next south of the Josiah 
Bellows house above the fair grounds, had small-pox. The rumor 
got out that it was in the village, and people were afraid to come 
here to transact any business. It caused a stagnation for some 
weeks. The editor of the Cods Democi'at stated in his paper April 
II, that there had not been a case of the disease within the village 
limits for thirty years, and that there was no danger to any one 
coming freely into the stores or upon the streets. It did not, how- 
ever, allay the fear until the cases were entirely recovered. 

Mr. Hovey took the disease in February, and died March 15, 
1849. He was attended by Dr. Eliphalet Lyman, once a noted 
physician. He seems to have had poor judgment in the manage- 
ment of either the disease or the nurse. Aunt Eunice White, for a 
dispute arose between them as to whether the room should be kept 
hot or cold. The doctor piled wood on the fire and heated up the 
house, but as soon as he was gone the nurse opened the windows 
and cooled it down. Hovey died, either from the disease, the treat- 
ment, or the nursing. We do not attempt to locate the responsi- 
bility. So fearful of the disease were his neighbors that sufificient 
help to decently bury him could not be had. He was placed in a 
rude cofifin and gotten into the yard where it was put on a bob 
sled, and drawn by a yoke of oxen to a point near the woods 
south of his house and buried about where the Maine Central Rail- 
road track crosses the line of the farm in rear of the General Cong- 
don place. 

Other members of his family took the disease, but recovered from 
it. Meanwhile the town authorities had sent Dr. John Dewey to 
Boston, Mass., for vaccine matter, and on his return, March 15, 
proceeded to have everybody in town vaccinated. The disease 
made no further ravages, and the fear subsided for many years. 
Vaccination was regarded as a satisfactory safeguard against small- 
pox, and the people sought safety in its practice. 

This disease made its appearance again in 1865, in a more for- 
midable manner than ever before. In July of that year, eight cases 
were discovered in the old Coos Hotel, then standing where Lin- 
scott's store and the barber shops do on the corner of Main and 



262 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Canal streets. There were living in that hostelry at the time 
twenty-one persons, all of whom had been exposed to the con- 
tagion by the thirteenth of the month. The selectmen acted 
promptly, and removed all the occupants of the house, with their 
bedding and other things necessary to their comfort, to the old 
Daniel Spaulding place on Page Hill, three miles out of the village, 
where they were taken care of. All the cases made a favorable 
recovery. 

Since that time no alarms of its presence have existed, though I 
understand there have been several cases of the disease, which 
owing to prompt and careful treatment did not spread to other 
persons about them. 

Scarlatina. — In 1813, scarlatina, or what was represented by 
Capt. J. W. Weeks in 1839 as such, broke out in a most malignant 
form during the early spring; and in three months carried off 
twenty-seven persons of whom thirteen were heads of families. 
Among this class were some of the most prominent men of the 
town — John Moore, Gen. Edwards Bucknam, Deacon Joseph 
Brackett, Lieut. Dennis Stanley, Humphrey Cram, and a number of 
younger men. It was most notably severe among older people and 
children of feeble constitutions. The first case was that of William 
Stanley, a son of Dennis Stanley, who had been to Portland on busi- 
ness. Soon after his return he came down with the disease and 
died. It continued to spread, and created great excitement among 
the people as they probably did not understand its nature or the 
proper treatment of it. It was generally considered, at the time, 
as a somewhat mysterious disorder that had direct connection with 
the uncommonly severe weather that had just been passed through. 
Mrs. J. B. Weeks, a daughter of Lieutenant Stanley, remembered 
for many years that the eaves of the houses did not drip for the 
period of three months in midwinter. Further than leaving the 
people somewhat debilitated, the weather could have had nothing 
to do with the disease, either in causing or spreading it. The fa- 
tality of the disease, and the loss of so large a number of promi- 
nent men and women, cast a gloom over the community for many 
years, and it is referred to now by older people with a shudder. 

Cholera. — A considerable degree of excitement ran through the 
town in 1857, over the rumor that two men had died of Asiatic 
cholera. They were Wm, Rowell, August 5th, and D. G. Smith, 
proprietor of the Coos Hotel, August 12th. It is not now possi- 
ble to gain definite knowledge of the true nature of the disease 
from which those two men died ; . but it may well be doubted 
whether it was anything more than cholera morbus, a summer 
complaint quite common at that season of the year, and not con- 
tagious as was feared at the time. 



EPIDEMICS THAT HAVE VISITED THE TOWN. 263 

Typhoid Fevej'. — The most dreaded of the contagious diseases 
that have occurred for many years has been typhoid fever. Per- 
haps it has not created as much fear and excitement as some 
others; but its hold upon the community from 1840, until within 
twenty years, or less, has been strong. 

When the only water supply of the village consisted of the springs 
and wells near the houses, where the pollution of the soil penetrated 
to their waters, this disease was fearfully prevalent. Until 1871 
there were no sewers to carry off the slops and the surface waters. 
These laid until the soil took them up, or until they evaporated, 
.accompanied by more or less noxious gases, and were hot beds 
for the propagation of the germs of various diseases. Typhoid 
fever is the result of filth. When man gets the soil about his dwell- 
ing and water supply filled with pollutions of all sorts, he is making 
conditions that favor this dreadful malady. Once it reaches the 
springs or wells from which water is taken, its spread is certain and 
rapid in proportion to the amount of the water used. 

The disease was epidemic in the village in 1864. At times there 
were more than a dozen cases, all confined to a very limited area ; 
none of them was south of the court-house. Again in 1881 there 
were some twenty cases, all confined to the southern end of Main 
street. The cause of their spread was found by Dr. F. A. Colby, 
who studied them and reported to the State Board of Health, to 
have been local. 

Since those two instances there have been cases in different parts 
of the town, but not epidemic. 

Since the putting in of what was known as the " Allen system " 
of water pipes from several good springs outside the village limits, 
which were kept pretty clean, the number of cases has been 
gradually decreasing. Since the present system of water-works 
has been generally supplying the citizens of the village with pure 
water the disease has been losing its hold upon the community. 

Difhthe7-{a. — This disease first made its appearance in town 
during March, 1863, when two deaths resulted from it. The first 
was a child of J. H. Woodward's, which died March 17. The next 
to succumb to its fatal ravages was Maria, daughter of Asahel 
Allen, March 18. Other cases recovered, but the community was 
wild with fear lest it should decimate the village. The source of 
that outbreak is not known with any degree of certainty. 

There were occasional cases of it until 1879 and 1880, when it 
became epidemic again. Much excitement prevailed over it at that 
time as there were many cases -and a number of deaths. From July 
2, 1879, to February 5, 1880, there were not less than twenty deaths 
from it. It invaded the homes of cleanliness and comfort as well 
as those of filth and squalor. Its only victims were children. 



264 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Again in 1895 and 1896 it broke out with the result of some 
dozen, or possibly more, cases with only two deaths. The use of 
antitoxin, the new remedy, was found very effective in all the 
cases in which it was used, and has tended to allay, somewhat, the 
fear of people that it is an almost necessarily fatal disease. 

During February and March, 1832, there was an epidemic of what 
the people then called "canker rash." It was so general through- 
out the town as to cause the authorities to close the schools. 
Thirty children died of the disease in the two months that it pre- 
vailed. Just what the disorder was is hard to say. The name is a 
common one, and is not recognized as conveying any definite knowl- 
edge of the disease. It is not impossible that it was diphtheria in a 
milder form perhaps than is common. The same disease is said to 
have broken out in 1774 and 1775, from which more than a dozen 
deaths resulted. 

Scai'let Fever. — This disease has only been known to have been 
alarmingly epidemic once in Lancaster, though for many years 
there have been more or less cases of it. From November, 1873, 
to April, 1874, there were many cases from which there were 
twenty-one deaths recorded. From that time to the present year 
there have been occasional cases both in the village and in the 
country districts, with but few fatalities. The number of cases is 
steadily growing less from year to year, and soon it may be hoped 
that the disease will be quite as infrequent as some of the other 
contagious diseases have become. 

Consumption. — Although consumption is seldom thought or 
spoken of as becoming epidemic, yet it is a contagious disease that 
has wrought sad havoc among the people of Lancaster. Very early 
in the present century it was supposed that this so-called pulmonary 
disorder was a result of the climate alone. The climate is a factor 
in its development, but never in its inception. It is a germ disease, 
and unless the germs of tuberculosis be introduced into the system 
through food or drink, or by contact in some way, the climate 
would never cause a man to be sick of consumption, It is often so 
slow in its course after the inoculation of the system that many 
people fail to associate the real cause with the first visible effects 
that strike terror to their hearts. 

Another fallacious notion about this disease is that it is hereditary, 
passing from one generation to another. Just how much truth there 
may be in that notion is not well known to-day ; but it is probably 
an admixture of fact and fallacy, and of but little importance in 
determining the probabilities of the disease. Even in what are 
regarded as hereditary cases of consumption, there are mediums for 
the spreading of the germs from one generation to another as above 
indicated. 



EPIDEMICS THAT HAVE VISITED THE TOWN. 265 

Just what were the mediums of its spread in this town from 1840 
to 1890, is not now ascertainable; but that the germs of the dis- 
ease were spread through the medium of food, drink, and contact is 
beyond doubt. Beef, milk, and possibly some other articles of food 
and drink are the chief sources of its spread. It is a well-known 
fact to-day that cattle take tuberculosis, and through the consump- 
tion of their flesh and milk the disease is communicated to man. A 
second dangerous means of its spread is through the sputa of the 
infected person. This is often spat upon the walks and floors, and 
carried on the feet of others into their homes, where upon becom- 
ing dry it floats in the air and is inhaled, when if the lungs be the 
least sore the germs find a footing in the system favorable to their 
growth. 

However it happened, the disease existed in this town from about 
1830 to 1890, when it began rapidly to decline. Some years there 
were nearly fifty deaths from this disease alone ; and at no time 
during that period were there less than half that number per year. 

The rapid decrease in the number of cases of this malady is due 
to the several factors of purer water, healthier beef and milk. The 
bulk of the meat eaten in the village to-day is from the Western 
states, where conditions are more favorable to the production of 
healthy meats. The Western meats are carefully inspected by the 
government, and what is not healthy does not reach us. The people 
who produce their own milk and butter have better facilities now 
for securing a healthy product than ever before in the history of 
the town ; and those who produce milk and butter to supply the 
market, exercise more care in keeping their cows healthy and get- 
ting the products into the market in proper conditions. 

With a better enforcement of the health laws, purer water supply, 
good surface drainage and sewers, and a more intelligent compli- 
ance with the laws of health on the part of the people at large, Lan- 
caster has become one of the healthiest places in northern New 
England. A study of its vital statistics reveals the fact that in 1846, 
with a population of 1,400, there were 224 deaths that year; in the 
following year with a decrease of population there were 246 deaths; 
in 1848, there were 234 deaths; 1849, there were 177. 

Those were times when everybody drank spring water, or that of 
a well that drained his dooryard ; there were no sewers, and the 
surface of the streets were not graded to carry off the waters from 
snow and rains ; there was no regard for health laws ; no atten- 
tion was paid to the sanitary conditions of things anywhere in the 
town, save as the intelligence of now and then a single family would 
dictate that they should exercise some care of their own premises. 
No one then could so readily require and compel his neighbors to 
keep their premises clean as he can now do through the board of 



266 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

health. The natural result of all this change is that, with a popula- 
tion three times as great as we had in 1845, the number of deaths 
has fallen below fifty a year. In 1895 there were but thirty-seven 
deaths, three of which were from old age ; one was a transient 
guest coming to one of the hotels sick, and died there ; five were 
infants of stillbirths. That leaves but twenty-six persons who died 
of disease ; and even some of those diseases, as apoplexy, cannot be 
attributed to climate or other local conditions. 

For the present year there were fifty-one deaths. This includes 
three infants that died at birth; two drowned ; three of old age; 
one homicide (accidental), leaving but forty-two that died of 
disease. 

These two years represent the extremes reached in the death rate 
since 1890 ; and the average of these two years is the same as that for 
the last six years — 44. From this should be taken the average of 
deaths from accident, old age, and others not resulting from disease 
— an average of ten per year, leaving but thirty-four as the average 
number of deaths from disease per year, which makes less than ten 
in a thousand of the population. 

In the light of these facts it may be confidently stated that this 
town is as healthy a place in which to live, as one can find with so 
many of the conveniencies and luxuries of life as are to be found 
here. With the improvements, already referred to, there is every 
reason to expect a marked improvement in the health conditions in 
the town in the immediate future. 

The vital statistics of the State Board of Health show Lancaster 
to be second to no other town in the state for healthfulness. The 
death rate is far below the average for the state. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
THE RAILROADS. 

No matter has been of more vital interest to Lancaster than that 
of railroad connection with the other sections of the state, and with 
the markets in which she must buy and sell the things from which 
her people were to get their subsistence and comforts. When 
railroad construction became an assured fact within the state the 
people here at once took a lively interest in the probabilities of 
getting a road so far north as to connect them with the rest of the 
fast-going world, for it was apparent to any one of a discerning mind 
that the old stage-coach pace had been broken, and that to prosper, 
the people of even so remote a town as Lancaster would have to 



THE RAILROADS. 26/ 

reach that pace or be left to see her sons and daughters forsake her 
for other fields of enterprise. 

In the history of this town we see how a railroad coming within a 
day's journey by team of a prosperous community, disturbs it and 
throws every sort of enterprise out of relation and harmony with 
similar ones on the line of the roads. Accordingly when railroads 
were an assured fact north of Concord, the people in Lancaster be- 
gan to make arrangements to encourage the completion of a road 
to this point, by means of a branch from the main line on the Con- 
necticut river up the Ammonoosuc River valley. 

The practical business men of that day saw that with a railroad up 
that valley, the town would be only a few hours further from Boston 
than the towns below it with which they had sustained a rather 
uneven rivalry in point of business for some years, and which towns 
if nearer the proposed railroad would bolt ahead and leave Lancas- 
ter an unprosperous back district. This the people did not intend 
to see happen if a live effort on their part could prevent a fate so 
direful. 

The matter of a railroad was discussed in all its features pro and 
con for several years, when the leading spirits in town made a bold 
move to bring about what seemed the most needed of all things — a 
railroad. 

The following notice appeared in the Cods County Democrat^ 
December 28, 1844: 

"Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the citizens of Coos county will be 
holden at the Court House in Lancaster, on the nth. day of January next, at 
ten o'clock, forenoon, for the purpose of considering the expediency of connect- 
ing the City of Montreal with the seaboard east of the City of Boston. All per- 
sons desiring the accomplishment of the above object are invited to attend ! " 

Signed by the following-named sixty-five men : 

"A. N. Brackett, G. W. Perkins, David Burnside, John W. Hodgdon, Thomas 
S. Hodgdon, L B. Gorham, Nelson Cross, John Bellows, Turner Stephenson, 
George W. Moore, A. N. Brackett, Jr., J. W. Lovejoy, Wm. D. Spaulding, H. 
C. Harriman, Wm. J. Brown, J. W. Barney, Chas. B. Allen, Allen Smith, 
Edward Melcher, Stephen Hayes, Joseph Roby, Francis Wilson, William Samp- 
son, Harvey Adams, George Alexander, Lewis C. Porter, Jacob Benton, Samuel 
Rines, Lucitanus Stephenson, Saunders W. Cooper, Hosea Gray, Heber Blan- 
chard, Reuben L. Adams, Benjamin Hunking, Charles Bellows, John H. White, 
Gorham Lane, John S. Wells, Harvey Howe, Richard P. Kent, Reuben Stephen- 
son, John Wilson, J. C. Cady, George Bellows, Zadoc Cady, Guy C. Cargill, 
Royal Joyslin, Frederick Fisk, Robert Sawyer, Wm. T. Carlisle, James H. Hall, 
Asa Gould, Thomas B. Moody, Joseph Mathews, Asa Wesson, J. W. Williams, 
John C. Moore, Samuel Mclntire, Briant Stephenson, Horace Whitcomb, Anson 
Fisk, Charles Cady, Joel Hemmenway, Joseph Moulton, George W. Ingerson." 

Just what was said and done at that meeting I have been unable 
to learn beyond the fact that a survey of a railroad was determined 



268 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

upon, and carried out. As a result of that survey a road was pro- 
jected from the main Hne of the Boston, Concord & Montreal rail- 
road in the town of Haverhill (at Woodsville) to Lancaster, on prac- 
tically the same survey that was later followed in building the present 
road. " Railroad meetings" were held at all points of any impor- 
tance along the proposed line of the road from the time of that sur- 
vey until it had become a settled fact that a road was to be built. 
In Lancaster such a meeting was held at the old Coos Hotel, kept 
by Joseph C. Cady, on the corner of Main and Canal streets. 
There, on November 22, 1847, were gathered an assemblage of 
Lancaster's business men to take into consideration what steps were 
necessary to be taken to secure a railroad either from the south or 
from the east, as the Atlantic & St. Lawrence railroad (now the 
Grand Trunk) was talked of, and active measures had been taken 
toward securing a charter for it from the approaching term of the 
legislature. 

One result of this meeting was inducing the company to ask for 
a charter over one or the other of two routes from Gorham north- 
ward so that it might choose the most available one. There was a 
willingness on the part of the promoters of that road to come to 
Lancaster ; but it was not known, at the time, whether a road could 
be built through the towns of Randolph and Jefferson on account 
of the hilliness of that section of country. The people of this town 
believed that a road could be built through those towns and down 
the Isreals river valley through Lancaster and up the Connecticut 
river to reach its proposed northerly course to the St. Lawrence 
valley. The Lancaster people were too slow in the matter of settling 
the question of feasibility of a road through the Isreals river valley 
route. Had they foreseen a fact that time was to change the course 
of that road to the disadvantage of this town they might have pre- 
vented a charter issuing without an alternative route from Gorham 
as the charter was issued on June 30, 1847. But Josiah Little, of 
Portland, president of the road, had bought the water power at 
Berlin Falls in 1844; a"cl by the time the road was graded as far 
as Gorham, it had become certain that boundless wealth was stored 
in the timber lands that would be made accessible by running the 
road up the Androscoggin river. A result of that decision is seen 
in the changing of the country about Berlin Falls from a howling 
wilderness into a prosperous city (chartered as a city 1897), with 
a population far in excess of that of Lancaster; all of which is due 
to the manufacturing of lumber and products from the timber of 
that section, and throwing much trade along the line of that road 
which might have been concentrated here by having the road con- 
structed on the proposed route through Lancaster. 

A strong effort was made, however, by Lancaster men to secure 



THE RAILROADS. 269 

the road over that route. A public meeting was held at Town 
hall, February 16, 1850, from which resulted a survey of the pro- 
posed route. At a subsequent meeting, at the same place, March 
20, 1850, for the same purpose the directors of the company were 
present and conferred with the citizens, and some rays of hope still 
remained for the construction of the road on their proposed route. 
The survey went forward during the early fall of that year, and, as 
everybody expected, proved that the route was practicable. The 
survey showed that the grade was only sixty feet to the mile from 
Bowmans to Gorham, the only section of the route that was in any 
way doubtful. The survey was made by the company's own engi- 
neers, and was satisfactory in every particular. 

While these movements of the At. & St. L. R. R. were going on a 
move was being made to connect Lancaster with the B., C. & M. 
R. R. to the south by building a road from the main line of that 
road to connect with the At. & St. L. R. R. at some point in Lan- 
caster. A charter to that effect was issued by the legislature 
December 25, 1848, to the White Mountain Railroad company, as 
the outcome of a railroad convention held in Littleton September 
16, 1848, which was largely attended by Lancaster people, and 
others along the proposed line of that road. A committee of ten 
men were appointed to cause a survey to be made, which they did, 
following in the tracks of the previous one we have mentioned. 
This effort was brought to naught through the magnifying of sup- 
posed difificulties in its way. The real difficulty may be discovered 
in the fact that on January 3, 1849, ^ ^^^w charter was granted by 
the legislature to the Connecticut River and Montreal R. R. Co. to 
build a road " from some point on the B., C. & M. R R., at or near 
the mouth of the Ammonoosuc river in Haverhill, or the terminus 
of the B., C. & M. R. R., up the Connecticut river to Lancaster, most 
convenient for connection with the At. & St. L. R. R." 

Between the White Mountain R. R. Co. and the Connecticut 
River & M. R. R. a dispute arose that was carried before the rail- 
road commissioners, who held a hearing on the question as to which 
company had the lawful right to build the road. Their decision 
was rendered May 24, 1849, in favor of the latter company. Hav- 
ing gained their end this company was not satisfied to go on and 
build the road according to the condition of its charter. The incor- 
porators of the White Mountain Railroad under the charter of Dec. 2 5 , 
1848, were: Royal JoysHn, R. P. Kent, Jas. W. Weeks, Wm. D. 
Spaulding, Wm. Burns, Presbury West, Jr., N. D. Day, L. Johnson, 
L. Montgomery, John M. Gove, and Morris Clark. This road was 
designed to be an extension of the C. & M. R. R., from Woodsville 
to Lancaster. 

This road was built as far as Littleton in 1853, and for a number 



2/0 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

of years no move was made by the company to fulfil its contract 
with the state to construct the road to Lancaster. Satisfied that the 
company intended to let the matter rest where it then stood, the 
people of this section interested themselves and secured the forma- 
tion of a new company — the Ammonoosuc Valley R. R. Co. A 
charter was granted this company July 14, 1855, authorizing it "to 
buy the White Mountain Railroad and to build a road from said rail- 
road in Littleton to some point on the At. & St. Lawrence R. R. in 
Lancaster." At this time there was an arrangment between the 
latter company and some of the citizens of Lancaster for the con- 
struction of a branch of the At. & St. L. R. R. from Northumber- 
land to Lancaster, which was considered in the legislature of 1854. 
Later, through the violation of the agreement by the company, it 
was not carried out, which we shall see caused the Ammonoosuc 
Valley R. R. Co. to break its contract with the people, or rather 
violate its charter, through which the same was forfeited. 

When the At. & St. L. R. R. had gone up the Androscoggin val- 
ley in 1850, and was completed to Northumberland, a movement 
was set on foot in Lancaster, by a number of citizens who had been 
so long engaged in the effort to get a railroad, to secure a branch 
of that road from Northumberland into Lancaster down the Connec- 
ticut river. They had been successful in securing from the company 
an agreement to that end ; and the star of hope still shone in their 
horizon. The company, however, saw fit to break its agreement and, 
to heal the wound their conduct made, tendered the citizens the sum 
of $20,000 as a forfeit for their non-compliance with the agreement. 

When this project failed the Ammonoosuc Valley R. R. Co. 
dropped their projected road from Littleton to Lancaster. Nothing 
more was done to further the matter of road building until the win- 
ter of i858-'59, when another popular movement among inter- 
ested citizens led to the formation of the White Mountain Railroad 
company, which secured a charter June 27, 1859, for a road "from 
Woodsville to some point on the At. & St. L. R. R., to take the 
property of the White Mountain Railroad and succeed it." This effort 
came to naught, like so many others, chiefly because of financial 
difficulties in the way of its construction. Nobody believed that the 
road would pay, and that it would cost so much to build it that it 
could not be made a success in any sense. Before these objections 
could be fully cleared up by proper considerations, the Civil War had 
broken out and drawn attention away from such enterprises. Every- 
body was so absorbed in the great questions of the war, raising sol- 
diers, paying bounties, and supporting the families of the men who 
enlisted in the service of their country, that no time or disposition 
was left for building railroads until the fate of the war was known 
and decided. 



THE RAILROADS. 2/1 

Near the close of the war, or in the early months of 1864, another 
effort was set on foot to secure the building of the much-planned- 
for railroad from Littleton to Lancaster. A new company was 
formed under the name of the Coos Railroad Company, which 
secured a charter July 16, 1864, for building a road " from the ter- 
minus of the White Mountain Railroad in Littleton to some convenient 
point on the Grand Trunk Railway (formerly the At. & St. L. R. R.) 
in Northumberland." The people set themselves resolutely to the 
task again with renewed courage ; but alas ! No immediate results 
followed their earnest efforts. No road could then be built. 

A road as far as Littleton was a good thing for Lancaster, but if 
that was a blessing, a road running into town was of a hundredfold 
more value to their enterprises. The connection, by team, with the 
At. & St. L. R. R. was much better than with the road at Littleton 
as it was not one half as great a distance, so all the freight that 
could be moved over that road reached Lancaster by way of North- 
umberland. It was plain that if the roads to the south were to 
share, to any very great extent, in the traflEic of the northern section 
of the county they must reach Lancaster, at least, if not the Grand 
Trunk. Various efforts were made during the next four years to 
induce the B., C. & M. R. R. Co. to take hold of the matter, and 
help along the building of the road. The company finally made 
the proposition to the towns, through which it was to pass, that if 
they would prepare the roadbed free of cost to the company, and 
ready for the iron, that it would then lay the iron and operate the 
road. This brought the matter to a point where it was finally set- 
tled by the town issuing bonds to enable the company to build the 
road. The road was built to Whitefield early in 1869, a formal 
opening of which was held in May of that year. On June 5, 1869, 
at a special town-meeting, Lancaster voted 256 to 50 to bond the 
town to the amount of five per cent, of its valuation (all the law 
allowed) to the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad company, on 
condition that the company build a road into Lancaster by the first 
of July, 1 87 1. To this the company readily acceded, and at once 
made preparations to build the road, though actual operation did 
not, for some reason, begin until the spring of 1870. On April 30, 
1870, S. S. Thompson, of Lyndonville, Vt., and John Lindsey, of 
Lancaster, took the contract to grade the road from Whitefield to 
Lancaster. They did their work rapidly and well, so that by the 
first of October the track was being laid into the village ; and on 
October 10, 1870, nine months before the limits of time set for the 
completion of the road, the cars were running. The first train of out 
freight, consisting of thirteen cars of cattle and sheep, loaded at the 
Chessman road, was carried over the road on that date. The first 
passenger train had come from Whitefield on the fifth of October. 



272 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Regular passenger trains were not run until about the end of the 
month. 

This was an event not to be passed over slightly, so a public and 
formal opening was decided upon for October 29. Many distin- 
guished guests were invited from abroad, and everybody in and 
near Lancaster turned out to celebrate the event. A committee 
was appointed to attend to arranging all the details of the occasion, 
and invite those whom it was thought should be present and parti- 
cipate in the exercises. 

The committee consisted of Col. Henry O. Kent, Hon. Jacob 
Benton, Hon. B. F. Whidden, Col. B. H. Corning, Hon. Ossian 
Ray, and Mr. John Lindsey. 

Col. Henry O. Kent was chief marshal of the day, with Edmund 
Brown and B. H. Corning as aids. The Lancaster Cornet band 
furnished music. 

An excursion train was run from Plymouth on that day, leaving 
there at forty minutes past seven, reaching Lancaster a little before 
noon. The train was drawn by the new engine named Lancaster, 
which had recently been built for the road by A. Blood of Man- 
chester. The conductor was the noted old stage-driver, Seth Green- 
leaf, son of David Greenleaf, the miller of Lancaster. His mother 
was Ruth Stockwell Hutchins, granddaughter of Emmons Stockwell. 
Seth Greenleaf had driven stage from Lancaster to Concord and 
Boston when the trip required three days ; and now after all those 
years he was privileged to run the first train of cars into his native 
town. 

On the arrival of the excursion train it was met by the committee, 
and hailed by the citizens who had turned out in large numbers. 
The invited guests from a distance were escorted to the Lancaster 
House and American House by the committee, band, and citizens, 
where at both places sumptuous dinners had been prepared for the 
invited company. The chief function was at the Lancaster House, 
where Landlord Elijah Stanton had prepared a most elaborate din- 
ner. Hither the main part of the company of invited guests and 
citizens were escorted. There were present the following persons 
from out of town : 

John E. Lyon of Boston, president of the B., C. & M. R. R. Co. ; 
J. A. Dodge of Plymouth, superintendent of the road ; Francis 
Cogswell of Boston, president Boston & Maine Railroad ; Stephen 
Kenrick, president Concord & Portsmouth Railroad ; S. N. Bell, pres- 
ident Suncook Valley Railroad; A. H. Tilton of Tilton, J. P. Pitman 
of Laconia, J. W. Lang of Meredith, directors B., C. & M. R. R. ; 
Hon. G. W. Kittredge of Newmarket, director B. & M. R. R. ; ex- 
Governor Frederick Smyth of Manchester, Gen. Natt Head of Hook- 
sett, Col. John H. George, Nathaniel White, Hon. N. W. Gove, Gen. 



THE RAILROADS. 2 73 

M. T. Donahoe, Col. Peter Sanborn, Hon. Charles P Sanborn' 
George A^Pillsbury, Col. Charles H. Roberts, Hon. John KTmball' 
John V. Barron Capt. William Walker, Col. Thomas J. Whipple 
and others of Concord, N. H. ; Mayor James A. Weston, Hon 
E. W. Harrington, Col. James S. Cheney, Hon. M. V. B. Edgerly 

M \^'''\^'^'^' ^'°°^' J"^g^ L.W. Clark, and others o'i 
Manchester N. H. William B. Dodge, Benjamin L. Reed, Seth 

A rSii w7 ^'"^''^'' ^""- ^- ^- L°^^"- ^- «• Frothingham, 
A. F. S, e, Wm.am F. Homer, and John Cilley of Boston, Mass. 
Hon. Oilman Scripture and Hon. A. H. Dunlap of Nashua, N H 
Hon. Daniel Barnard of Franklin, N. H., George W. Hills and D^ 
Aaron Ordway o Lawrence, Mass., J. H. Huntress of Centre Har^ 
W-n- \?°'' ?^^°«^'sett. Stark Tolman of Lowell, Mass., Hon 
Wilham Blair John C.Moulton, and E. A. Hibbari of L;con'a; 
N. H., Col. A. H. Bellows of Walpole, N. H., Mai George D 
Savage of Alton N. H., George M. fierring of Farmiligton? I S.] 
Gen / M ^- ^-dair of Bethlehem, Gen. John Bedel and 
Gen. J^ M. Jackman of Bath, N. H., Sylvester Marsh, Hon 
Harry Bingham, Hon. George Bingham, Maj. E. W Farr Col' 
Cyrus Eastman, and Hon. C. W. Rand of Littleton, N. H , and re- 
porters or the press of Concord, Boston, Manchester. Laconia 
Lake Village, and Portland. ^^dconia. 

The company having been seated at the table, divine blessing 
was asked by Rev. H. V. Emmons of Lancaster ^ 

h.M^'u'Z^' 'K^-^y ^""^ '^^"^'^"^ P^^'y ^^^^^ <^aned to order 

H^n b"f Whidd """ if i'^ ^^""'"^^ ^^ arrangements, when 
^rTr.il Wh'dde" was called upon to preside, which he did with 
gracefulness and dignity. After-dinner speaking was indulged 
m by many persons until it was time to march back to ake the 
train on its return trip. Hon. Mr. Whidden made a pleasant speech 
of welcome which was replied to by President John E. Lyon in 
which he recounted some of the experiences of' his compTy n 
building the new road. Other speeches were made by Colone" 
Kent, President Cogswell of the B. & M. R. R., Hon. OsLn Ra" 

lowell r" ^"''^"J'= ^"^"^ ^'""'^^ ^- Marden, editor of the 

Lowell C^..r..r read a poem; Hon. Jacob Benton, Col. J H 
George, Hon. Daniel Barnard, John B. Clark, editor Manchester 
wTj^nT Z"'""l^T^' ^°^- ""'''' Sanborn, Gen. Natt Head 
R 'lo'i^ if' T'^- "• ^""^^P' Seth Adams, and Hon. Cheste 
B Jordan a 1 spoke briefly. The exercises closed with the sinJin.^ 

Whii: t^Z'^ '^ ''^ ^"^^^^^^°" ^' ' ^-^- ^- Stubbs of Lisb'n^ 
While these exercises were going on at the Lancaster House sim: 
liar ones were being enacted at the American House where 
speeches were made by Hon. Harry Bingham, Col Thomas T 
Whipple, Judge L. W. Clark. Hon. E. W^ Ha;rington: anrGen.' 



2 74 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

M. T. Donahoe. These exercises, highly enjoyed by all present, 
but by none so much as Lancaster people, were closed in time to 
march back under the escort of the committee, band, and citizens 
to take the train at twenty minutes past three o'clock in the after- 
noon. 

Thus was celebrated one of the most important events in the his- 
tory of northern New Hampshire, and one of the most significant 
railroad enterprises in the state, since the building of the main 
line of the road ; but withal, it came twenty years too late to give 
Lancaster the full benefit that a railroad should have given. Had 
the effort of 1846 resulted in the building of the proposed road, 
there is no room to doubt that Lancaster would to-day have been 
one of the most prosperous cities in the state. Railroads make, 
and sometimes unmake, communities. At all events they exercise 
a potent influence in shaping the destiny of towns. Like all our 
blessings, if properly managed, they are a benefit, if not, they 
become a curse that eats out the life of a community. 

The new road was without a proper depot building until the 
spring of 1871, when a moderate-sized one was erected north of 
where the present one now stands. This gave way in 1893 to the 
present most creditable structure, pleasing to the citizens and a 
credit to the company. 

In 1872 the road was extended to Groveton in Northumberland 
to connect with the Grand Trunk Railway, an arrangement very 
gratifying to the people at both ends of the extension. 

In 1873 these small roads were consolidated with the B., C. & 
M. R. R., the owners of them receiving the company's bonds to the 
amount of $30,000, at six per cent, interest as a consideration. 

From June, 1884, to June, 1887, the road was under the manage- 
ment of the Boston & Lowell Railroad company, which company 
had leased the B., C. & M. R. R., for ninety-nine years. In 1887 
the Boston & Lowell leased it to the Boston & Maine Railroad 
company, under which company its management now is. 

T/ie Atlantic & St. Lawrence f orfeit ^$20,000. — Returning to 
this matter, we find that at a meeting held in the town hall, August 
24, 1854, some sort of arrangement was made between the citizens 
and the representatives of the railroad company by which the latter 
were to build the branch from Northumberland to Lancaster. Fail- 
ing to keep their contract with the people, the company forfeited to 
them the sum of $20,000 as the outcome of proposed legislation at 
Concord. 

There were fifty-four citizens who had carried on this measure in 
the interest of the town, but without any legal authority to do any 
act that would involve the town financially. Neither had there ever 
been any action taken by the town as a party to these transactions. 



THE RAILROADS. 275 

They had from first to last been carried forward by private indi- 
viduals acting together for what they considered the interests 
of their town. Now finding themselves with so large a sum of 
money in their hands that did not legally belong to them, nor yet 
did it legally belong to the town, these men felt themselves 
morally bound to use it to promote some important public interest. 
After much deliberation it was decided, first to pay $2,000 for all 
expenses previously incurred, and to use the balance in building a 
good hotel, something the town was much in need of for many 
years. Accordingly these men met July 22, 1856, and took formal 
action to organize themselves into a private company to carry out 
this purpose. Several meetings were held, and officers were elected 
to carry their plans into effect. A committee was chosen to audit 
accounts for money spent, and time devoted to the effort to secure y 
the branch road. That committee consisted of John Dewey, Rue- 1/ 
ben C. Benton, and William Heyvvood. Another committee was 
chosen to select a site, and buy land on which to build the pro- 
posed hotel, and consisted of William Burns, Jacob Benton, John W. 
Barney, John H. White, and Richard P. Kent. Five directors were 
chosen, and a treasurer, who was placed under bonds for the faith- 
ful disposition of the money according to the directions of the 
company, which now took the name of the Lancaster Hotel Com- 
pany. 

An effort was later made to turn the amount of this money 
remaining after the expenses allowed by the auditors were paid 
over to Lancaster Academy, but the majority still favored the hotel 
project, and the committee for that purpose was instructed to go 
on and build the hotel as planned. Accordingly, the lot of ground 
where the present Lancaster House now stands was purchased of 
Dr. John Dewey, and a good three-story hotel, the first Lancaster 
House, was built. After its completion it was rented for some time, 
and finally the directors of the hotel company decided to sell it. 
Although the hotel represented a property value of about $15,000, 
it was decided to sell it for a nominal sum, regarding the difference 
between the price asked and the actual value of the property as a 
bonus to the purchaser in consideration of its proper management 
as a necessary convenience of the town. 

The sum of $7,000 was realized out of the sale of the hotel, 
which was turned over to the Lancaster Academy upon condition 
of David A. Burnside of that institution using the money to com- 
plete a new building for the school, which it did, and it, in due time, 
received the money. 

Out of this failure to get a railroad, the town got as an offset to 
the disadvantage sustained by the failure, a good hotel and the 
academy, then, as for many years, the pride of the town, a build- 



2/6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ing that gave it a new lease on life and sent it on a useful ca- 
reer for the next quarter of a century. It is difficult to think of 
any better use that sum of money could have been put to in order 
to serve the best interests of the town. Lancaster needed nothing, 
then, so much as a good hotel, and the one built by that committee 
was a first-class one. Then, too, it was before the days of high 
schools. The common school of that time was not equal to the 
demands for a practical education. For such the people had to 
look to academies, and the one located here could render the people 
better service than any other away from home ; so the endowment 
to it was timely and wise. The committee was the town's " faithful 
steward" in these important measures. 

The Kilkenny Railroad. — In 1879 the Kilkenny railroad, from 
Lancaster to the town of Kilkenny, was first projected and char- 
tered as a logging road to reach a heavy body of spruce and 
hardwood timber on Kilkenny mountains and about the foothills. 
It was projected by Lancaster men, some of whom were inter- 
ested in the timber of the section it was calculated to reach, while 
others interested themselves in the matter simply to help along 
an enterprise of considerable value to the business interests of the 
town, as connected with existing business. 

A company was organized under the name of the Lancaster & 
Kilkenny Railroad company, and a charter procured July 18, 1879, 
to build a road "from some point on the B., C. & M. R. R. near 
the bridge over Isreals river to the forks of Garland brook, near 
the base of Round mountain in the town of Kilkenny." 

The directors were : Henry O. Kent, Frank Smith, B. H. Corning, 
Joseph A. Dodge, and Samuel N. Bell. The officers were: H. O. 
Kent, president ; J. I.Williams, clerk; S. H. LeGro, treasurer; ex- 
ecutive committee : J. A. Dodge, H. O. Kent, and Frank Smith, 

The company employed an engineer, Col. Charles C. Lund of 
Concord, to make a survey, which revealed a practicable route. 
This plan contemplated the erection of saw-, pulp-, and paper-mills, 
on the property of the Lancaster Manufacturing Company at the 
upper dam, in the village; but the land coming under control of 
" promoters," it was not carried out. The road would have gone 
up Isreals river to the Weeks meadow, and then across by the 
" Grange " to the " Willard Basin." Later, the " Littleton Lumber 
Co.," of which Charles Eaton and Henry C. Libbey were the prin- 
cipal men, secured a new charter, and built in 1887 a surface road 
leading from near the station via the rear of Summer Street cemetery 
to the old line near Spaulding mills, in District 15, and with this 
line cleared the land, manufacturing the timber outside the town 
limits. 

The Maine Central Railroad. — As early as 1864 an attempt 




Coaching Parade, 1895. 




Maine Central Station. 



THE RAILROADS. 2/7 

was made to get a railroad built through the White Mountain 
Notch, where the Maine Central railroad now runs. A company was 
formed under the name of the Portland, White Mountain & Ogdens- 
burg R., R. Co., and a charter procured from both the Maine and 
New Hampshire legislatures. The charter granted by the New 
Hampshire legislature was for a road "from any point on the east- 
erly boundary of the state, in Carroll county, to connect with the 
Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad of Maine, to some point on the 
westerly boundary of the state, in Monroe, Littleton, Dalton, or 
Lancaster." 

For some reason no progress was made within the time prescribed 
by the charter, and on July 7, 1869, it was extended for five years. 
This charter also expired because no work was done on the pro- 
posed road within that time, and nothing came of it further than to 
keep the importance of a road through that section before the 
people until the right time came to secure it. The projectors of 
that road were Maine and Vermont parties. 

In 1875 the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad was built from Port- 
land to Fabyan's, reaching the latter place August 7, 1875. There 
connection was made with a branch of the White Mountains Rail- 
road, then under the control of the B., C. & M. R. R., by which 
means they reached Scott's Junction, and from there built two and 
one half miles of track, which enabled them to make connection 
with the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad. The company 
concluded that they could not reach Littleton, and in 1877 asked 
the legislature to confirm their rights to the portion of road from 
Scott's to Lunenburg, which was conceded, and the arrangement 
still continues. 

In the spring of 1883 a charter was granted the Upper Coos Rail- 
road Company to build a narrow-gauge road from North Stratford 
to Pittsburg, to connect with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Their 
capital stock was only $45,000, a sum utterly insufficient to build, 
equip, and operate a good road, and there was a demand for a 
serviceable road over that route. Eleven thousand dollars of that 
sum was paid in, when Frank Jones of Portsmouth, Charles A. 
Sinclair of Portsmouth, and George Van Dyke of Lancaster agreed 
to take the enterprise off the hands of its promoters and build a 
standard-gauge road on condition of a bonus of $25,000 being raised 
for them. This offer was accepted and the bonus raised. The old 
directors at once resigned and a new board was elected, consisting 
of Frank Jones, J. B. Cook, G. M. Armstrong, I. W. Drew, Enoch 
Sweat, C. A. Sinclair, and George Van Dyke. The officers were: 
George Van Dyke, president; J. B. Cook, treasurer; Enoch Sweat, 
general manager. The capital stock was limited to $350,000. 

The road was built and opened for trafitic to Colebrook, Novem- 



2/8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ber 29, 1887. From Colebrook it was later extended to the Cana- 
dian Pacific. This opened up a short route to Quebec; and as the 
Canadian Pacific and the Maine Central roads were friendly to each 
other, it led to the construction of what is now the Maine Central 
road through Lancaster when in 1890 the latter road got control of 
the old Portland & Ogdensburg, through the White Mountains. In 
1893 the Maine Central leased that road and the Upper Coos Rail- 
road, and laid a track from the main line, just over the line in the 
town of Carroll, through Whitefield, Jefferson, Lancaster, and 
Northumberland and thence across the Connecticut river, and up 
that stream, crossing over to connect with the line of the Upper 
Coos Railroad at Stratford Junction, where it also connects with the 
Grand Trunk. This gave Lancaster a second railroad connection, 
by which it now possesses good facilities for reaching any point of 
interest in the business or social world. 

With the coming of the Maine Central Railroad in 1890, the popu- 
lation of the village was augmented more than at any time in its 
history, as there were many families connected with the operation 
of the road that have had to reside here. The location of the 
round-house here requires a number of men to care for the machin- 
ery of the road. It is expected that at no very distant day the 
road will erect repair shops here, also. The company have a fine 
depot and freight sheds and have made other improvements on their 
property that add to the attractiveness of the road and grounds. 



PART II. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Geology — Botany — Fish — Reptiles — Mammals — Insects — Birds — Address 
BY Col. H. O. Kent Before New Hampshire Fish and Game League. 

The history of Lancaster would be incomplete if we did not say 
something of its natural history. Lack of space, however, forbids 
us going into detailed treatment of the several branches of natural 
history of the town. It is thought best to give a brief account of 
its plant and animal life, as it exists to-day, with mention of the 
more important plants and animals that once abounded here but 
are now extinct. 

GEOLOGY. 

Lancaster is underlaid by the unstratified, or basic and acidic, 
rocks which are of the oldest formation. These rocks are a coarse 
granite or gneiss of variable composition. There is considerable 
syenitic gneiss met with in town, and a very little mica schist. 

Overlying this bed of rock are several varieties of soils, deposited 
as drift of the glacial period, or by sedimentation, decay of the old 
gneiss rocks, or by river drifts. The irregular angles of the primi- 
tive rock ledges were all polished and worn by the glaciers. Val- 
leys were plowed out, ridges thrown up, often leaving ponds, the 
bottoms of which now afford vast meadows of uncommon fertility. 

Before the Connecticut river broke through the Fifteen-mile falls, 
in the adjoining town of Dalton, the valley where Lancaster now 
stands was a vast lake through which that river ran, and into which 
Isreals river and many smaller streams then emptied their 
waters. With the successive breaks in the rocks of the ledge form- 
ing these falls, the waters of the lake were drawn off with sufficient 
rapidity to cut new channels for the rivers and leave terraces in 
many places testifying to the magnitude of the lake and rivers. 
Four distinct terraces were formed within the limits of the village of 
Lancaster. The first is that on Pleasant street, extending to the end 
of Cottage street. It formed the plain on which the old town meet- 
ing-house stood. The second terrace, on the same side of Isreals 
river, is that level on which Elm street runs. This terrace forms 
the vast level of Main street. When the waters rushed out to form 
this level or terrace the mound, on which was located the first ceme- 



252 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

tery of the town, became an island around which the waters found 
their way, leaving it behind as a monument of their ravages. The 
third terrace is seen south of where the Boston & Maine Railroad 
crosses Isreals river, in the section once known as Egypt, while the 
fourth and last one is the level of the lower meadows along Isreals 
river and the Connecticut. In all these terraces the waters kept 
lowering until to-day they flow fully fifty feet lower than they did 
when the lake covered the valley. This change took place at the 
close of the ice flow of the glacial period, or when it melted so 
rapidly as to produce water faster than the channels could carry it 
off. 

Throughout the town the glacial drift, or till, covers the slopes and 
often the summits of the hills. The bowlders and irregular blocks 
of stone spread over the town vary greatly in size and character of 
formation. Very few fossils are found, and those only in the drift. 
The drift varies greatly from coarse gravel to immense bowlders, 
some of them weighing many tons. One of these granite bowlders, 
near the line between Lancaster and Northumberland, afforded all 
the stone for the stone house in which I. W. Hopkinson lives on 
Main street, the county jail, and other buildings. 

The vast deposits of the drift afford rock for building purposes, 
and the terraces sand for mortar and other uses. The soil varies 
in kind and quality from coarse, gravelly and often rocky, to sandy 
loam with many meadows where once were swamps in which deep 
deposits of vegetable matter were laid down, now a source of almost 
inexhaustible richness. The soil is generally fertile, and with proper 
treatment yields a fair return to the farmers and dairymen. 

There are no minerals of any importance within the limits of the 
town. There are slight but unmistakable traces of gold-bearing 
quartz in the southern part. In the vicinity of Martin Meadow 
pond there is the outcropping of a quartz formation that bears 
slight traces of gold. There is also a fringe of drift around Mar- 
tin Meadow hills, extending northward toward the Connecticut 
river almost to the village on the South Lancaster road. The quartz 
in which it is found is attached to large bowlders that were trans- 
ported from across the Connecticut river. The same quartz is found 
over vast distances north and west of Lancaster. Slight deposits 
of iron ore, mostly bog ore, are to be found in several portions of the 
town. As early as 1794, when Emmons Stockwell rented a mill 
privilege on Isreals river (where Frank Smith & Co.'s mills now are) 
he reserved the right to take water out of the dam for the use of 
" iron works " that he contemplated building to use this bog ore. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 283 

THE TREES AND PLANTS OF LANCASTER. 
By Rev. George H. Tilton. 

The botany of Lancaster does not differ essentially from that of 
other towns lying in the same range of vegetation. To an observer 
of its primitive forests, however, the sombre colors of the Canadian 
evergreens would appear somewhat modified. The dark, conical 
tops of the black spruce, mingled with the lighter fir balsams, would 
characterize the Vermont hills lying in our belt, and also the Kil- 
kenny and White Mountain ranges, but the forest-crowned heights 
of Lancaster were mainly of another sort. Here grew abundantly 
the rock maple, the spreading beech, the silvery white birch, and to 
some extent the red oak. Other trees were intermingled, but these 
predominated. One hundred years ago the whole town was heavily 
wooded, with the exception of a few small clearings which had been 
made by the early settlers. To an observer from the top of Mount 
Prospect, the eye would detect scarcely a break in the dense forest, 
except the pond at Martin Meadow, the waters of the Connecticut, 
the Beaver Meadows on the South Lancaster road, and the small 
clearing where the village now stands. As the eye swept down 
from the variously wooded summits of the hills, and rested on the 
higher swells, it would behold a luxuriant growth of maple and 
beech, dwelling with special delight upon the magnificent forests of 
rock maple, which furnished an abundant supply of sugar for the 
early settlers, and which it is a shame in the present scarcity of 
groves to destroy for the mere greed of gain. Descending still 
lower, and surveying the vast Connecticut intervale, the eye would 
scan hundreds of acres covered with tall and stately pines. 

These primeval pines grew to an enormous size, and if standing 
to-day would be worth a vast fortune to their owners. Maj. J. W. 
Weeks, one of the town fathers, in his sketch of Lancaster, describes 
one of them as four feet in diameter with the trunk perfectly sound 
and straight ninety-eight feet from the ground where it was twenty- 
two inches in diameter. Specimen boards from these primitive trees 
may still be seen in a fence on the Holton premises at the head 
of Main street. 

Shading off from the dense pines and nearer the river might be 
seen the butternut, which is indigenous to the soil, the black cherry 
of large size, the choke cherry, a few birches, and above all the 
stately elm towering, in some instances, to the height of sixty feet 
up to the first limbs. Glancing again over the landscape, the eye 
would also observe certain swampy areas, which were covered with 
cone-bearing trees, the black spruce, fir balsam, tamarack, and 



284 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

hemlock freely intermingling. This may answer in general for a 
description of our primitive forests, though, of course, one class of 
trees is wont to shade off gradually into another, and in some places 
the hard woods and the cone-bearers would be found growing to- 
gether. 

Among the other trees may be mentioned the arbor vitae, the 
black ash with its thin layers of wood used in basket work ; the 
poplar, of which three species are found here : the large poplar, 
now in demand for the manufacture of wood pulp ; the aspen-leaved 
poplar, noted for the tremulous motion of its leaves, and the balm 
of gilead {Populus candica^ts) , -which, is often planted for ornament. 

Besides the rock maple, the source not only of sugar but of the 
famous " bird's-eye " maple, there is also the white maple, a tall, 
handsome tree which is tapped for sugar, and often transplanted for 
ornament, the red maple which grows in swampy places, and which 
furnishes the variety called " curled maple," so esteemed in cabinet 
work. 

In addition to the white birch already mentioned, there is the 
yellow and the black birch, both used for lumber. The largest 
white birches in the country are found in the White Mountain belt, 
some of them measuring two feet in diameter. The red cedar grows 
in this belt, but very few, if any, trees are now to be found in town. 
The hemlock has largely disappeared. No chestnut or white oak 
grow here. The red oak was most common on the Martin Meadow 
hills. The acorns were formerly fed in large quantities to the swine 
and the beechnuts supplied food to the innumerable pigeons which 
came in the spring of the year and nested on the mountains. 

The primitive vegetation of Lancaster was far more luxuriant than 
the present growth, owing partly to the richness of the virgin soil, 
and partly to the more abundant water supply. Now that the coun- 
try has been so largely denuded of its forests, there is less humidity 
in the air, and all plant life suffers loss. The lakes and streams are 
much smaller than formerly. On this point the oldest residents of 
the town speak very positively. They say that Isreals river, e. g., 
together with the streams and springs which feed it, have one third 
less water on an average than they had fifty years ago. Even sup- 
posing the annual rainfall to be the same, the moisture is not 
retained as formerly so as to sustain a luxuriant plant growth, and 
cause a steady, even flow in the streams. 

The splendid forests of a century ago were gradually cleared by 
the pioneers of the town and their descendants. Lumber was of no 
value. The gigantic pines of the intervale were cut and burned so 
far as the fire would consume them, and thousands of the uncon- 
sumed trunks were thrown into the Connecticut and carried down 
the stream. The hard woods were utilized by being burned to ashes 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 285 

and made into " salts of lye " as the people called the potash thus 
obtained. For many years this was an important article of com- 
merce, and in the great scarcity of money furnished a common 
medium of exchange. 

Among the shrubs of Lancaster worthy of special mention are the 
following : 

The American yew ( Taxus canadensis) . This is a low, strag- 
gling, prostrate bush, found in moist woods. Its fruit is unique 
resembling a red berry, round and pulpy. Within this pulpy disk 
and nearly inclosed by it is a small nut-like seed. One would never 
suspect from the berry that it belonged to the cone-bearing family ; 
and yet the "berry" is really a disguised cone. It is the only 
species of yew in the United States. The mountain ash is another 
of our indigenous shrubs. It has a wide range of growth, and is 
found on rocky mountain sides and along the banks of streams. 
Its ample clusters of bright red berries give it a remarkable bril- 
liancy in the autumn. In Europe it is called the Roman tree, where 
it is associated with superstitious notions, being used for divining 
rods, amulets, etc. As the European variety grows a little larger 
than our own, it is preferred for cultivation. 

The hazelnut is quite common, and is gathered by the children 
for its sweet, nutritious kernel. 

The high cranberry ( Vibtwmun opulus) grows quite abundantly 
along the roadsides. Its tart, red berries are often eaten as a sub- 
stitute for the meadow cranberry, which is also indigenous to the 
town. 

Blackberries and raspberries are abundant, and so are blueberries. 
The huckleberry i^Gaylussacta resinosal) is not found here. The 
wild gooseberry and black currant may be found here and there by 
roadsides and in pastures, particularly on Stebbins hill. 

The purple-flowering raspberry or " mulberry " i^Rubtis odoratus) 
grows luxuriantly on Mt. Prospect and elsewhere. It is a very 
showy plant when in blossom in July, and its berries are edible. 

One or two of the smaller species of sumach is found here ; but 
not the poisonous variety commonly known as "dogwood" (^J^/itis 
venenata). The poison ivy which belongs to the same genus is 
occasionally seen. 

The common and the red-berried elder both grow along the 
roadsides. The moosewood, the alder, and the willow are all found 
in their proper habitat. There are several species of cornel, which 
are the true dogwoods, and all innocent. Among these is the pretty 
dwarf cornel or bunch-berry. 

We have also the rhodora, a species of rhododendron. It grows 
abundantly, flowering in June before the leaves are developed. 
This beautiful flower suggests Emerson's lines written in its honor, 



2 86 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

" Dear, tell them that if eyes were made for seeing 
Then beauty is its own excuse for being," 

Of the smaller plants, Lancaster presents a great variety. A com- 
plete list is not at hand, and if it were it would have little interest 
in a popular history. The following are a few of the most interest- 
ing species : 

The hepatica is the first plant to open its petals in the spring. 
There is a sunny spot on the southeast slope of Mt. Prospect, on the 
Jacobs farm, where the blossoms of this charming plant open by 
the middle of April, while the snow yet lingers in its neighborhood. 
It is a member of the crowfoot family, and is therefore first cousin 
to the buttercups, anemones, marsh marigolds, etc. 

The Mayflower or trailing arbutus {^E^igcsa re^ens) is another 
of the early blossomers. There is one place in town where it may 
be found, though only in small quantities. This spot is near the 
outlet of Martin Meadow pond. It is a small, attractive blossom, 
with a most delicate fragrance — a universal favorite. 

The spring beauty (^Claytonia Virginica) is also one of our 
early flowers, blossoming about the first of May. The plant grows 
from a small tuber, and has two narrow opposite leaves from three 
to five inches long and a pretty rose-colored blossom, its petals 
being streaked with pink veins. It grows abundantly on our mead- 
ows. It belongs to the purslane family. 

The twin-flower {Linnaea bo?'ealis) was named for the great 
botanist, Linnjeus. It belongs to the honeysuckle family. It is a 
tiny plant with small, roundish leaves, and three peduncles, each 
bearing at the top a pair of nodding, bell-shaped, roseate, fragrant 
flowers. Its month is June. It is a charming little flower and 
should be more generally known. It is partial to moist, rocky 
shades, and may be found in large quantities by the roadside in the 
woods just beyond Baker's hill. It was one of Emerson's favorites. 

" The slight Linnaea hangs its twin-born heads." 

The forget-me-not (^Myosotis) is universally admired. It grows 
in wet places, having a special fondness for the margin of brooklets. 
It is in blossom from May until August. Before opening the raceme 
is coiled up like a scorpion and for this reason the plant is known 
as " scorpion grass." It has a pretty blue blossom with a yellow 
centre and is first cousin to the heliotrope. It grows in several 
places in town, but is far more abundant in the adjoining town of 
Lunenburg. 

The composite family has a large representation here. One of 
its most showy members is the cone flower (^Rudbeckia htrta), 
with large yellow rays, spreading from a brown, cone-like centre. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTFR. 28/ 

In August it is conspicuous in grass fields among the daisies Then 
there is the golden ragwort of the meadows; the purple thorough- 
wort and the boneset, the elecampane, the pearly everlasting; ?he 
fireweed {Eplobtuni augustifolium) , springing up where woods 
have been cleared and the ground burnt over; the bur-marigold or 
beggar-ticks of which the dry akenes adhere to the dress with 
their two-barbed awns; the wild lettuce, the dandelion, the wild 
sunflower, the fleabanes, and the whole troop of asters and golden- 
rods. ^ 

The lily family is represented by the bright Canada lily of the 
meadows the Solomon's seal of the woods, the bellwort, with a yel- 
lowish blossom and commonly known as wild oats ; the white and 
purple trillium or wake robin; the pretty smilicina, common in 
woods and low grounds and much used in bouquets, often called 
improperly '-the wild Hly of the valley"; the dog's-tooth violet, 
yellow adders tongue {Eryihronium Amcricanum), is everywhere 
conspicuous with its yellow blossoms in the month of May 

To this family belongs the beautiful clintonia of the woods It 
maybe recognized by its two or more broad, smooth leaves near 
the ground, from whose base rises a naked scape about six inches 
high, bearing an umbel of greenish-yellow flowers in June and a 
cluster of bright blue berries in the autumn. In this connection 
may be mentioned the charming blue iris, or flower-de-luce of the 

AI?. r'V l;''''i''^. ^f^' ""^ *" numerous pondweed family. 
Also the Nymfhiads, including the yellow pond lily, a favorite food 
of the beaver and moose; and the white water lily, esteemed for its 
beauty and fragrance. The orchid family has many interesting 
plants, including the handsome lady slipper. The prince pine 
the pyrola, the sarsaparilla, and the checkerberry {Gatdtheria) 
are all natives of our woods. The fumatory family is represented 
breedres^' "^^""^^'"-^'"'"ge and the Dicentra or Dutchman's 

Our milkweeds are conspicuous for their showy blossoms and 
their pods filled with a fluffy down, nature's wings for wafting the 
seeds. The strawberry should be mentioned both for its use and 
beauty; nor should the sweet violets and bluets of early summer be 
passed by. 

These are some of the more striking and interesting of our native 
plants, but to mention and describe them all would require a volume 
especially if we were to add a description of the lower forms of ve-e- 

i^-°wu ^'^''^'' ^^'"'' "^^"^ "'^^^^S' "tosses, and lichens, in alfof 
which the town is especially rich. As these would awaken little 
popular interest, only a single example of each will be siven Of 
grasses, the blue-joint is the most showy, and is esteemed' as a 
food for cattle. Of the ferns, the beautiful maidenhair easily bears 



288 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the palm and is not uncommon, especially in the Mt. Prospect 
woods. Of the club mosses, the three most common species are 
found here in abundance. Of mosses, the genus Fiinai-ia is, per- 
haps, the most common. Among the lichens, anyone may recog- 
nize the Usnea barbata by its hanging in fringes from evergreens 
in the swamps something after the manner of the "long moss" 
( Ttllandsta) of the Southern states. 

FISH. 

The darters {Poecilicthys). — Striped darter {P. lincatus) ; dot- 
ted darter (P. puncttilatus) ; Johnny darter {Boleosotna brevi- 
^matae) . 

Perch {Percidae). — Yellow perch {P. Jluvescens) ; trout perch 
(^Percopsis giittatus) . 

Bass i^Microfterus). — Big-mouthed, black h^iss, {M.Jiuvidamis) ; 
small-mouthed, black bass (J/, salmoides). 

Sunfish {Pomoiis). — Common sunfish {P. aureus). 

Trout (Salmo). — Brook trout (^S . fontinalis) ^ several varieties. 

Minnow {^Melantira). — Mud minnow {M. limi). 

Esocidae. — Muskellunge iyEsox nobili'ar) ; little pickerel {E. 
sahnoneus) . 

Dace (ySemotihis) . — Common chub, or horned dace (6". corj)or- 
ulis) . 

Shiners (^Noteniigonis) . — Common shiner {^N. Americanns) . 

Suckers (^Catostoniiis) . — Common mud sucker (C teres) \ red 
horse ( Teretuhis diiqiiesnei) . 

Bull heads (^Amimiriis) . — Common bull head i^A. Americaniis) ; 
bull pout (yA vulgaris) . 

Eels {Agtiillidae) . — Common eel {A. vtilgarus) . 

REPTILES. 

Turtles (^Testiidinata) . — Northern box turtle [Ctstudo ornatits) ; 
commong snapping turtle (^Chelydra stirpentiyms) ; soft-shelled 
turtle (^Aspidonectes spinifer) . 

Note. — Hon. J. W. Weeks tells me that the eel was not known in Lancaster until the 
otter had become extinct. It was supposed that the otter destroyed them. The salmon 
was once so plenty, before dams were built on the Connecticut river, as to have been one 
•of the recognized sources of food for the early settlers. Every family was expected to 
salt down a barrel of salmon for the year. They did not become extinct until about 1808. 
They remained in the river through the winter until about that date. Shad probably 
reached Lancaster in their ascent of the Connecticut river; but if they did they were not 
regarded as of any importance as salmon were so abundant. The two were hindered 
from ascending the river by the dam at Turner's Falls in 1803. At Littleton they were 
recognized, and an " inspector of shad and salmon " was one of the officials of the town. 
Trout were found here by the first settlers in inexhaustible quantities, and continued 
plenty until the streams were filled with sawdust from the mills. Since then they have 
not been so plenty, but by carefully stocking the streams the fish commissioner has kept 
them plentiful enough to make trout fishing one of the recreations of the town, and an 
inducement to summer tourists to visit it. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 289 

Snakes (^Opkidia). — Spotted water snake (^Trofidonotiis sife- 
don) \ striped water snake {T. liberis) \ garter snake {^Eutaenia 
sir talis) ; black snake {Scotophis alleghaniensis) ; green snake 
(^Liopeltis vernalis). 

AMPHIBIANS. 

Frogs (^Ranidae) . — Leopard frog {^Rana haleciana) ; green 
frog (7?. fo7itinalis) ; wood frog (7?. sylvatica) ; bull frog (7?. 
pipens) . 

Tree frogs {Hylidae). — Tree toad {Hyla versicolor) ; spotted 
tree toad (Chorophiltis maculata) ; striped tree frog (C triseri- 
atus) . 

Toads i^Btifonidae) . — Common toad {Bufo Americanus) . 

Salamanders and newts {Urodela). — Spotted triton {Diemycty- 
lus viridecens) ; red evet (Z?. miniatiis) ; red triton {Spelerpes 
ruber); spotted salamander {Amblistoma punctatimi) ; Jefferson's 
salamander (^A. 'Jeffersonianuni) . 

MAMMALS. 

The order Fclidae was once represented by the following species 
that have now become extinct : 

Panther {^Felis concolor) sometimes wandered through Lancas- 
ter. One remained for nearly a year in town during 1832. He was 
humorously named the "Sub-treasury," that political question be- 
ing one of considerable consequence at the time. He was hunted 
down and killed on Mount Prospect. Canada lynx were once plenty, 
as were also the Siberian lynx, known as the bob-cat. The black 
cat, or fisher as he was known here, was once so plenty as to have 
been a great nuisance to the hunters and trappers. He followed 
their lines of sable traps and robbed them of their game. The wild- 
cat {L,ynx rtiftis) was occasionally met with in early times. 

The fox ( Canidae) . — Red fox ( Vulpes fulviis) ; gray fox ( V. 
Virgin iamis) . 

The wolf ( Canis occidentalis) was once plentiful here, but long 
since disappeared. The first wolf known to have been seen in Lan- 
caster was killed by Gen. Edwards Bucknam December 23, 1776, 
for which the town paid him a bounty, the receipt of which I have 
before me. Judge J. W. Weeks informs me that they were not 
numerous in Lancaster until from 181 5 to 1825, at which latter 
time they were a source of much danger to man, and destructive to 
the herds of sheep of which there were many, at that time. They 
are supposed to have followed the deer, which animal was seldom 
seen until about 181 5, when they began to increase rapidly by 
migration from the West. A bounty of twenty ($20) dollars was 



290 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

placed upon wolves at the time when they became numerous, which 
induced the professional hunters to destroy them so that they had 
nearly disappeared about 1835. Occasionally one was seen later, 
but no flocks of them appeared after that date. The last wolf 
killed in town was a black one in 1839, by Edward Spaulding. The 
gray wolf was quite plenty at one time. Judge Weeks tells an 
interesting anecdote of a dog owned by Joel Hemmenway, who 
lived near where Deacon Freeman now does on the east road. This 
old dog, named Smutt, was harnessed by Mr. Hemmenway and made 
to work in running a churn in his large dairy. This he did not like, 
and one day, when he saw his master getting ready for churning, 
Smutt set out and joined a pack of wolves that infested the woods 
near by. He was seen all summer to come into the pastures, and 
catch lambs from his master's flock, and carry them to the cowardly, 
lazy wolves lying in the woods. When winter came on, and Smutt 
remembered his old master's warm fireside, he returned one day as 
suddenly as he had disappeared in the churning season. 

MUSTELIDAE. 

Fisher (^Mustela -pennantii), once very plentiful, but now ex- 
tinct; white weasel {Puto7'tus novehoracensis) ; mink (/*. visofi) ; 
skunk {^Me-phitis tnephitica) ; otter {Lutra Canadensis) , once 
very plenty, and a source of revenue to the early settlers, but now 
for a long time extinct ; wolverine ( Gtilo luscus) was once plenti- 
fully found, and a source of trouble to the settlers. It has long 
since disappeared with many other animals familiar to the inhabi- 
tants of the town. 

Bears (^Ursidae). — The black bear {Ursus Americanus) has 
always been known here, and is still taken near the village. W. C. 
Sherburne, the clothier, shot one on Stebbins Hill in 1895 that 
weighed over four hundred pounds. Others were seen in the same 
vicinity that year. The meat of the bear was an article of food 
much sought after in early times. 

Coon i^Procyonidae). — The raccoon {P. lotor) has always been 
found here, and is occasionally met with at the present time. 

Cervidae (the deer family). — Common deer {Cerviis Virgini- 
anus). This beautiful animal was not known here until about 
18 1 5, when it began to make its appearance in the southern part of 
the town. At first it was not much hunted, and from the natural 
increase and migration, supposed to have been due to their being 
pursued by wolves in New York and Vermont, became v^ery plenti- 
ful in a few years, since which time they have been much prized 
for their flesh and skins. They are still quite common, so much so 
as to have been seen on the roads near the village in 1895. During 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 29 1 

the summer of 1895, the writer saw several in the woods within a 
mile or two of the village. The moose (C alces) was abundant 
for a long time after the town was settled. Moose meat was a 
standard article of diet for three generations of the first inhabitants. 
There are several men still living who remember seeing the moose. 

Bats (^Vesfertilionidae). — Brown bat (^Scotofhihis fiiscus)\ 
little brown bat ( Ves^ertilio siihiilatus) . 

Moles {Talpidae). — Silvery mole {Scalofs argentatus) ; star- 
nosed mole ( Condylura cristata) . 

Soricidae. — Mole shrew {Blarina bi'cvicauda) ; Cooper's shrew 
{Sorex Cooferi). 

Miiridae. Mice, rats. — Common mouse {Mus musculiis) ; white- 
footed wood mouse (^Hesperomys leiicoptis) ; meadow mouse 
{Arvicola riparius) ; pine mouse {A. -pinetorum) . Brown or 
Norway rat (J/, deciimanus) ; muskrat (^Fiher zibethicus). 

Squirrels {Sciuridae). — Gray squirrel {Sciuriis migratorius) ; 
red squirrel (-5. Hudsoniantis) ; flying squirrel {^Pterniys volii- 
cella) ; chipmunk (yTamias striata); woodchuck (Actomys 
monax). 

Hystricidae. — Canada porcupine (often mistaken for the hedge- 
hog), {Hystrix dor sat a). 

Leporidae. — Gray rabbit {^Lepus sylvaticus) ; northern hare (Z,. 
Aniericanusy. 

The beaver {Castor fiber'). — In the history of Lancaster the 
beaver deserves more than mere mention as an animal now ex- 
tinct. The beaver, long before this country was visited by the 
white man, had erected dams along all the smaller streams, and 
after a time killed off the timber on their borders, in some places 
covering many acres. After the first hunters and trappers had fol- 
lowed the Indians in the chase of the beaver, hunting him for his 
flesh and skin, these dams fell into decay, leaving nice, level, and 
fertile meadows to spring up to grass. These "beaver meadows" 
furnished the first settlers with grass and hay for their animals until 
they could clear land and produce tame hay. Gen. Edwards Buck- 
nam located on the Beaver Brook meadows in the south part of the 
town, and others soon followed him, so that at one time the larger 
portion of the population was in that locality. David Page took 
advantage of a beaver dam on Indian Brook to use its waters for 
the first grist-mill erected. In many localities the industrious bea- 
ver played an important part in preparing the country for the occu- 
pancy of man. The last one seen in town was taken about eighty 
rods from Capt. J. W. Weeks's house on Prospect farm about 181 5. 
Mr. Weeks is authority for the statement that the bank beaver 
abounded on Beaver Brook and Martin Meadow pond in his day. 
The first rats appeared at the house of Cofhn Moore, near Martin 



292 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Meadow pond where Mrs. James Mclntire now lives, in 1822. Mice 
became a plague in 185 i, destroying grass, grain, and even pota- 
toes in the ground. Some fields were completely stripped of their 
crops by them. Several species of birds came to prey upon them, 
among which was the labradore or white owl wdiich has remained 
ever since as a permanent resident. 

INSECTS. 

Lancaster is rich in insect life due to its luxuriant vegetation and 
other conditions favorable to the life habits of insects. 

The writer, in three seasons, has identified over five hundred 
species of lepidoterous (four winged) insects, and nearly as many 
nocteridae. Nearly all of these are injurious to man, beast, or 
vegetation. These, with as many more that are less noticeable, 
furnish food for a large number of insectiverous birds that are either 
permanent residents of the locality or else are regular visitors during 
the summer season. There are several species of small animals 
that seek them as food also. The butterflies and moths are con- 
spicuously plentiful and beautiful in Lancaster, affording pleasure to 
the eye but much mischief is done to gardens, fields, and forests by 
their larva. 

Grasshoppers are so abundant some seasons as to be very de- 
structive to crops and pastures. During that of 1895, they were 
exceedingly numerous. Fortunately they were assailed by a para- 
site (^Aphidius) and destroyed so rapidly and effectively that as 
many as thirty-seven dead hoppers were counted on a single stem 
of herd's grass. 

The beautiful shade trees (mostly elms), for which Lancaster has 
long been noted, have suffered from the ravages of the imported 
elm bark louse, a coccid {Gossypm'ia ulmo), that made its appear- 
ance here about 1890. It now infests several species of shade and 
fruit trees. The oyster shell bark louse infests apple trees largely 
throughout the town much to the injury of trees and fruit. 

Lancaster, and the whole region southward to Northfield, Mass., 
was visited by an army of worms in 1770, and again in 1781, which 
caused much suffering among the early settlers through almost com- 
plete loss of their crops. They ate everything except peas, pump- 
kins, and flax. In some sections the people were compelled to 
subsist almost wholly on pumpkins and pigeons, then very plentiful. 
This insect, always present in this section though very seldom nu- 
merous enough to be harmful, was no doubt the common army 
worm (^Leiicania tmiptincta). The meager descriptions given of 
it in various prints, notable among which is Powers " History of the 
Coos Country," describe the army worm quite accurately. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 293 

THE BIRDS OF LANCASTER. 

Few localities have so large a variety, and number, of birds as 
the town of Lancaster. Nearly all the birds seen here at any time 
are regular residents, or visitors, of the locality that appear every 
season. The list of migratory birds is a long one for so small an 
area, and the chief change in the variety is one of increase of new 
species. The town lies in a section of country that is most favora- 
ble to bird life, containing a great variety of food and the best of 
nesting facilities for them. 

Nearly every season brings new species to increase the variety of 
useful birds. Some species, once quite common, are no longer 
seen. Among that class are chiefly the game birds, which have 
been very nearly exterminated by man and beast. The advent of 
the English sparrow has been accompanied by the steady decrease 
of the more social birds, like the robin, bluebird, and swallow, that 
like to build their nests near the habitation of man in order to get 
farther away from their enemies in nesting time. In some sections 
of the country the barn and chimney swallows have been entirely 
driven away by them ; and Lancaster seems to have been affected 
in the same way. The English sparrow is a noisy, pugnacious, and 
irrepressible intruder, hated alike by men and birds everywhere. 
So far their number has been quite limited, but they have shown no 
promise of being anything but an almost unbearable pest to man 
and bird. As they are seed-eaters and scavengers they linger about 
the streets of the village where their kind of food is most abundant. 
It is a well-known fact that they will not eat hairy worms, or insects 
having hard wing-cases. In August, 1894, I saw one of them 
wrestling with a worm, the first and only instance I ever saw, and 
yet I have watched them closely for nearly twenty years. The 
worm in this instance was the common cabbage-worm {^Pieris 
rapae) which it pecked, and half swallowed several times, but finally 
left and flew away as if disgusted with the prospect of making a meal 
out of such creatures. This worm is eagerly eaten by our common 
field sparrow, and also the ground sparrow. 

During June and July, 1895, English sparrows were seen to eat 
vast numbers of grasshoppers in the village of Lancaster, as well as 
several species of insects they have never before been credited with 
eating. 

The number of our more social birds have been greatly lessened 
also by ignorant and cruel boys who frighten them away from the 
close contact they seek with man. There is a wanton destruction 
of both the birds and their nests. Too often the innocent and valu- 
able creatures are ruthlessly shot to gratify the passion for killing 
simply because furnished with guns. Another lingering relic of 



294 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

barbarism that should be suppressed is the so-called " squirrel 
hunt." It leads to the destruction of birds, and can serve no val- 
uable purpose ; but it brutalizes those engaged in it, and destroys 
large numbers of the most useful birds. 

Every spring the bird-nesting and egg-collecting craze breaks out 
among the boys, most of whom ignorantly and cruelly destroy large 
numbers of nests and eggs of the most useful birds. In most all 
such "collecting" the nests and eggs are thrown away after the 
first flush of the craze is worn off. The much-hated and severely 
condemned "millinery hunter" has not shown himself in Lancaster 
yet, and may it be many a day before he does. 

Taking all of these abuses of our birds into account, it is a wonder 
to the thoughtful and observant mind that we have so many birds 
as we have, to help us in the struggle of life and to cheer our oft- 
time burdened lives with their cheerful songs. 

During the year 1894 I saw either alive or dead one hundred 
and sixty-nine species of birds within the territorial limits of the 
town of Lancaster. In addition to these, there were reported to me 
on competent authority eleven others I had not myself seen, mak- 
ing in all one hundred and eighty species living for some portion of 
the year in the town. Observations during the first six months of 
1895 increased the number by ten additional species. 

For a high latitude Lancaster is favorably situated as a congenial 
resort for both winter and summer birds. It is surrounded by hills 
or mountains, and traversed by numerous streams of various sizes, 
besides containing several ponds of considerable size. The streams 
and ponds are flanked by marshes and banks of varied degrees, 
affording excellent feeding and nesting facilities, as does the whole 
undulating and varied surface of the town. 

The enemies of bird-life, excepting those named above, are as 
few as one meets with anywhere. The long, cold winters keep the 
snakes few and feeble. The owls have very nearly disappeared, 
and the hawks are but few in number. The squirrels, especially 
the little red squirrel, which is the worst, are among the worst 
enemies of the birds in nesting-time. These have nearly disap- 
peared from the town. 

The chief enemies the birds have to contend with to-day are the 
fox and skunk. They destroy many of those that nest on the 
ground. They have probably done more in exterminating certain 
of our game birds than hunters have, as most of them either nest 
on the ground, or feed there while quite young, and fall ready vic- 
tims to these two animals. 

The conditions favorable to the life of the migratory birds are 
seldom, if ever, stationary. Their geographical distribution by 
species and number is a question of climate and food entirely. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 295 

The migratory habit is one they acquire under those conditions. 
There would be no object for our summer birds leaving if their 
food did not give out by either being killed by the cold weather, or 
driven into winter quarters. Their return in the spring is as much 
due to the fact that they have exhausted the food supply of their 
winter quarters, as to find a warmer climate. As they approach the 
former summer quarters they find their food growing plentier again. 

The food supply of this town is most abundant, nor is it likely to 
fall short for either the summer or the winter migrants. The seed- 
eaters always find an abundant crop of seeds, and the few fruit- 
eaters that come here subsist chiefly on the wild berries, of which 
there is always a crop. We have no birds that are confined solely 
to a fruit diet, but only such as prefer it to anything else. The in- 
sect-eaters will find their supply controlled always by the season 
preceding their visits. A mild winter is sure to be followed by an 
abundant crop of insects, as is also a summer season that is favora- 
ble to the growth of vegetation. Even a cold winter, if it follow 
such a summer, is not unfavorable to a large number of insects. 
Extreme wet and dry summers are the least favorable to insect life, 
as they have a greater effect on it than either heat or cold. The 
wet and dry seasons also control the food supply of the winter 
migrants. 

The rapid destruction of forests in lumbering interests has in a 
great measure tended to drive away species once common and abun- 
dant; but it has created conditions favorable to the life of many 
other species that have taken their place, so that our bird fauna 
increases. New species find in this change conditions more favor- 
able to their manner of life. The change of climate consequent 
upon the destruction of the forests has been rather an element of 
instabiliity than of extremity of heat or cold. The effect it has had 
on the bird fauna is due to the changes in the plant and animal life 
by which their food supply was affected. These changes follow the 
changes in the vegetable life of the country. The disappearance 
of the early and larger growth of trees has been favorable to an in- 
crease in the insects that find easier access to the more abundant 
foliage of the second growth, and brush springing up as the larger 
trees are removed. Then, too, the increased area of open lands in 
cultivation, or under pasturage, give larger chances for insects to 
breed and find their food, which has tended to draw to the locality 
large numbers of insectivorous birds. 

The economic importance of our birds is the chief one, and will 
remain so for the future, despite the growing interest in their 
aesthetic importance as a means of affording pleasure. 

During the two hundred years that the birds have been studied 
in this country great changes have been noted in them. Some that 



296 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

under primitive conditions were useful to man have become injuri- 
ous; but a much larger number of those formerly injurious have 
become useful to us in many of our interests. Of this class we may 
name the blackbird, bobolink, and the kingbird {Tyrannus). 
These changes in the character of the birds are due to the growth 
of human population and industries, forcing upon them a changed 
environment. Many birds that were formerly shy and retiring are 
coming to live closer to human habitations, and manifest a greater 
degree of confidence in us. They seem to be friendly to our indus- 
tries, too. Those capable of affording us the greatest service and 
pleasure are steadily becoming more abundant in the thickly settled 
communities if the timber is not wholly destroyed, or if it has in a 
measure been replaced by the planting of orchards. 

Then, too, the birds have some share in making conditions more 
favorable to their increase and distribution, in spreading the seeds 
of their own food supply over a wider territory. Both our land and 
water birds carry about and scatter seeds that adhere to their feet 
and beaks, in the dirt with which they are generally coated. By 
this means they plant for their own future necessities in a way of 
which they are unconscious, and which is often unknown, or over- 
looked by us. The seeds of some plants eaten by them pass unin- 
jured through their bodies to be widely scattered in their flights. 
The universality of the raspberry, blackberry, mountain ash, and 
wild gooseberry is wholly due to this means of dispersion, as well as 
many of the weeds and grasses. 

Certain others, like the jay and woodpecker, hide acorns, beech- 
nuts, and seeds of various kinds for their winter supply, and failing 
to find or need them, they grow far from where they matured. In 
this way many of our most valuable trees have been widely spread. 
Some of the noxious weeds and grasses have been spread by the 
birds to whose feathers they have adhered by means of the hooks 
and awns of the seeds. During the season of 1894, I witnessed an 
instance of a bird clearing its feathers of the sand burr which does 
not grow within miles of the place it was dropping the seeds. I 
have frequently seen them clearing themselves of several varieties of 
the wild rye and oats that grow abundantly about the town. 

Such facts as these admonish us to exercise a wise care in our 
treatment of the birds. Many of them that formerly had a bad rep- 
utation in this section of country, and which are ruthlessly destroyed, 
are becoming very useful to human interests. Among such is the 
blackbird which lives almost wholly on bugs and worms that infest 
the meadows and pastures, doing great damage to the grass. This 
bird never encroaches on the farm and garden crops so long as he 
can find insects in the meadows and pastures. In this town he 
earns a hundredfold more than he destroys for us. The extermina- 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 297 

tion of this one species would involve heavy losses on meadow 
grasses by the rapid increase of insects that would follow their dis- 
appearance. 

So with most of our birds ; we lose very little by their presence 
in comparison with what we gain by their help, or what we should 
lose if it were not for the services they render us. But for them we 
would be overrun in a few years by injurious weeds and insects that, 
if they did not make agriculture and grazing impossible, would 
make it so expensive in fighting those pests that all profit would be 
lost to us. It requires many thousands of seeds a day to support 
a seed-eater, and scarcely less insects, to feed the most hearty eaters 
among the insectivorous birds. The little yellow thistlebird eats vast 
numbers of thistle and dandelion seeds every day, and even feeds 
its young in the nest on them. Every brood of these birds raised 
makes our work of fighting these pestiferous weeds so much easier. 
The finches and warblers feed on plant lice in their various stages of 
growth. The woodpeckers, fiuthatches, and creepers eat the eggs 
and larvffi of many insects that are deposited in the bark of the 
trees. Certain of the warblers, vireos, and flycatchers feed on 
insects that infest the under sides of leaves and escape the notice of 
other insect-eaters. Who has not watched the little creepers inspect- 
ing the under sides of the limbs and leaves of our fruit trees for 
insects? Thrushes, starlings, finches, robins, and nearly all of our 
native sparrows eat insects that hide on, or in, the ground. The 
cowbird eats the insects that infest our domestic animals ; and also 
the intestinal worms voided by them, preventing new broods of the 
worm. The bobolink eats vast numbers of grasshoppers and crickets, 
the latter of which are equally as injurious as the former though not 
generally known to be much of anything but night singers. The 
red-winged blackbird is of the same habit to a large extent. The 
few fruit-eaters we have, just about equal the damage they do by the 
spread of the wild berries, especially the raspberry and blackberry. 
But for the birds these would soon become extinct, and cut us off in 
two of the delicacies of this locality. 

From these facts we see no ground of alarm in respect to any 
result from the presence of our present birds. What little damage 
some of them do is more than balanced by the benefits we derive 
from their presence. Shall we not, then, learn to treat the little 
creatures with more kindliness, and encourage them to live among us 
as freely as they seem inclined to do? 

A CHECK-LIST OF THE BIRDS OF LANCASTER. 

[Note. — Birds are generally counted as belonging to the localities in which they 
breed; but many of them visit localities unfitted for breeding purposes with as much 
regularity as they return to their breeding places, and should therefore be counted as 



298 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

belonging to the places in which they are to be seen every year. Such rule has been 
followed in the preparation of this list It includes all the birds that one will see during 
the course of the year whether residents or migratory visitors. In both repects they 
sustain an important relation to the locality, and are ranked together in this list. 

It has been thought best to make the list an English one, and accompany it with a 
technical list, in parentheses. The numbers following the names of species are those of 
the check-list of the " American Ornithologists' Union," and those in parenthesis are 
from "Coues' Key and Check-List of North American Birds." These numbers are 
given for the convenience of those who may wish to identify and study the birds. Many 
birds have more than one vulgar name. These are all given to avoid confusion on the 
part of persons who know the birds only by the untechnical, or common, names. 

Valuable service was rendered the writer, in the preparation of this list, by Mr. Fred 
B. Spaulding, a local "collector "of birds' eggs, whose long acquaintance with the birds 
of the locality is very e.xtensive.] 

Order Pygopodcs (diving birds). 

Family Podicipidae (grebes) : 

Pied-bilied Grebe; water-witch; hell-diver {Podilynihtis fodi- 
cep), 6-(852). 

Family Urinatoridac (loons) : 

Loon; great northern diver {Urinator inibcr), 7-(840). 

Black-throated loon; black-throated 6a\q.x {Urinator arcticus), 
9-(842). 

Red-throated loon; red-throated diver {Urinator Imnnic), 1 1- 
(844). 

Family Alcidae (puffins) : 

Black guillemot; sea pigeon (Cepp/nis gryile), 27-(87i). 

Order Ansercs {Lamcllirostral swhwrncvs) . 

Family Anatidae (ducks, geese, and swans) : 

Sub-family IMcrginae (mergansers). 

American merganser ; fish duck ; goosander {Alcrganser Amer- 
icanus), i29-(743). 

Red-breasted merganser ; Shelldrake {Merganser serator), 130 

-(744)- 

Hooded merganser; top-knot {Lophodytes cucullatus), 131- 

(745)- 

Sub-family Anatinae (river and pond ducks) : 

Mallard; green head ; mallard duck (Anas hoschas), i32-(707). 
Black duck; dusky duck {Anas obsctcra), i33-(708). 
Baldpate ; American widgeon {Anas Avierieana), I37-(7I3). 
Green-winged teal {Anas Carolinensis), I39-(7I5). 
Blue-winged teal {Anas discors), i40-(7i6). 
Wood duck ; tree duck ; snm.n\QX dnck {Aix sponsa), i44-(7i9). 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 299 

Sub-family Fuh'guUnae (bay and sea ducks) : 

Canvasback {Aythya vaUisneria), i47-(724). 
American gokien eye ; whistler ; garrot ( Glaucionetta clangida 
Americana),!^ i-(725 ). 

Sub-family Anserinae (geese) : 
Canada goose; common wild goose {Braiita Canadensis), {j 02). 
Order Hcrodoncs (herons, bitterns, etc.). 
F'amily Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) : 

American bittern ; marsh hen ; shitepoke ; stake driver {Botau- 
rus lentiginosus), 190— (666). 

Least bittern {Ar delta exilis), igi-{66'j). 

Great blue heron; blue crane (Ardea /lerod/as), i94-(655). 

Little green heron; fly up the creek; poke {Ardea virescens), 
20i-(663). 

Order Pahidcolae (cranes, rails, etc.). 

Family Rallidae (rails). 

King rail ; marsh hen {Rallus elegans), 20^-{6'j6). 

Virginia rail {Rallus Virginianus), 2i2-(677). 

Carolina rail; sora ; ortolan; crake {Porzana Carolina), 214- 

(679). 

Yellow rail ; yellow crake {Porzana noveboracensis) , 2 1 5— (680). 

American coot ; mud hen ; blue peter ; crow duck {Fiilica Amer- 
icana), 22i-(686). 

Order Limicolae (shore birds). 

Family Phalaropodidae (phalaropes). 

Wilson's phalarope (Phalaropus tricoloi'), 224-(6o2). 

Family Scolopacidae (snipes, sandpipers, etc.). 

American woodcock {Philohela minor), 228— (605). 
Wilson's snipe; English snipe; jack snipe {Gallinago delicata), 
230-(6o8). 

Pectoral sandpiper; krieker {Pringa niaculata), 239— (616). 
Yellow legs; lesser tattler {Totanus flavipes, 255-(634). 
Solitary sandpiper ; wagtail; ti^-u^ {Po/anus, solitaries), 2^6— 

{657). 

Field plover; upland plover {Bartraniia longicaiida), 261— 
(640). 



300 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Spotted sandpiper; peet-weet; teeter tail {Actttis maailarta), 
263-(638). 

Family Charadnidae (plovers) : 

Kildeer; kildeer plover; ring plover {yEgialitis vocifera), 

273-(584-) 

Piping plover; piping ring plover {^/Egialitis vieloda), 277- 

(587). 

Order Gallinae (gallinaceous birds). 

Family Tetraonidae (grouse, quail) : n 

Bob-white; quail; partridge {Coli'niis Virginianus), 289-(57i). 
Canada grouse; spruce partridge i^Dendrogra^iLS Canadensis), 

298-(555)- 

Ruffed grouse; partridge; pheasant i^Bonasa jinibcl/us), ^,00- 

(565). 

Canada ruffed grouse {Bonasa iimbclliis togata), 300a-(566). 

Order Cohmibae (pigeons and doves). 

Family Colunibidae (pigeons and doves) : 

Mourning dove; Carolina dove (^Zanaidnra macroiwa), ^16- 
(544). 

Order JRaptores (birds of prey). 

Family Falconidae (falcons, hawks, and eagles) : 

Marsh hawk; mouse hawk; \\2irr\Qr {Cirats Httdsonius), 2,?)i- 

(489). 

Sharp-shinned hawk {^Acci^iter volex), 332-(494). 

Cooper's hawk; chicken hawk {Accipiier cooeri), 333-(495). 

American goshawk {Acctpitcr aij'icapillus) ,T)'i)A^-{^g6) . 

Red-tailed hawk; red-tailed buzzard ,{Buteo borcalis), 337- 
(516). 

Red-shouldered hawk ; hen hawk; chicken hawk {Biiteo hnea- 
tus), 339-(520). 

Broad-winged hawk {Bu/eo latissinitts), 343-(524). 

American rough-legged hawk {Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johan- 
«?5), 347a-(525). 

Pigeon hawk (yFaIco columbarius), 35 7-(505). 

American sparrow hawk {Falco sparvcrius), 36o-(5o8). 

American osprey ; fish hawk i^Pandion hat /'actus Carolinensis) ' 
364-(538). 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 3OI 

Family Btirbonidae (horned owls, hoot owls, etc., S.) : 

American long-eared owl; Wilson's owl {^Asio Wi/somantis), 
366-(472). 

Short-eared owl {Asio accipitrinus) , 367-(473). 

Barred owl; hoot owl {^Syj'nium nehulosum^ , 368-(476). 

Great gray owl {Scotiaptex cineretim) , 370-(474.) 

Richardson's owl {IVyctala tengmalini J^ichardsoni),'^'ji—(^4$)2). 

Saw-whet owl; acadian owl {IVyctala acadica), 372-(483). 

Screech owl; mottled owl (Megascops asio), 373-(465). 

Great horned owl; Virginia horned owl {Bubo Virgmmntcs) , 
375-(462). 

Snowy owl; white owl {JVyctea nyctea), 376-(479). 

American hawk owl {Surnia iihila caparoch) . 

Order Coccyges (cuckoos, kingfishers, etc.). 

Family Cuculidae (cuckoos) : 

Yellow-billed cuckoo {Coccyzus Am eric amis), 387-(429). 
Black-billed cuckoo {Coccyzus erythrophthahmis) , 388-(428). 

Family Alcedinidae (kingfishers) : 
Belted kingfisher {Ccryle alcyon), 390-(423). 

Order Pici (woodpeckers). 
Family Picidae (woodpeckers) : 

Hairy woodpecker {Dryobates villosus), 393-(433). 

Downey woodpecker {Drxobates pabescens), 394-(44o). 

Arctic three-toed woodpecker; black-backed, three-toed wood- 
pecker {Picoidcs arcticus), 400-(443). 

American three-toed woodpecker; banded-backed three-toed 
woodpecker {Picoides Amertcanus), 401— (444). 

Yellow-bellied sapsucker ; yellow-bellied woodpecker {Sphyra- 
piczis varius ) , 402- ( 446 ) . 

Pileated woodpecker {Ceop/i/oeus pi/eatus), 405-(432). 

Flicker; high-hole; yellow-hammer; golden-winged wood- 
pecker {Cola-pies auratus), 4i2-(457). 

Order Macrochires (goatsuckers, swifts, and hummingbirds). 

Family Cafri?nulgidae (nighthawks and whip-poor-wills) : 

Whip-poor-will {Antrostomiis vocifertis), 4i7-(397). 
Nighthawk ; bull-bat; goatsucker {Chordeiles Jl'rginianus), 
420-(399). 



302 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Family Micropodidac (swifts) : 

Chimney swift; chimne}' swallow {Chacltira ^eagica), 423— 
(405). 

Family Trochilidac (hummingbirds) : 
Ruby-throated hummingbird {Trochilus coluhris), 428-(409). 

Order Passer es (perching birds). 
Family Tyranidac (flycatchers) : 

Kingbird; bee martin; tyrant flycatcher {^Tyranmis tyrannus^, 
444-(369). 

Crested flycatcher; great crested flycatcher {^Myriachiis crinitiis), 

452-(373)- 

Phoebe ; pevvee ; bridge bird ; pewit flycatcher {Sayornis ^hoebe) ^ 

456-(379)- 

Olive-sided flycatcher {Contofus borcalis^, 459-(38o). 

Wood pewee {Contofus vtrens) 46i-(382). 

Yellow-bellied flycatcher (yEui-pidonax favivcntj-is (463-(388). 

Trail's flycatcher Empidonax traillii) 466a-(385). 

Least flycatcher ; chebec (yEmpidonax minimiis (467-(387). 

Family Alndidae (larks) : 
Horned lark; shore lark {Octcoris alpestris), 474-(82). 

Family Corvidac (crows, jays) : 

Blue jay {Cyanocitta cristata), 477-(349). 
Canada jay {Perisorcns Canadensis), 484-(359). 
Northern raven ; American raven {Corviis corax principalis), 
486a-(338). 

American crow; common crow {Corvtis Anier/canus), 488— 

(340). 

Family Ictcridae (blackbirds and orioles) : 

Bobolink; reedbird ; ortolan; ricebird ; butterbird ; skunk black- 
bird ( Dolichonyx oryz/vortis ) , 494-( 312). 

Cowbird ; cow bunting; lazy bird {Afo/oi/irus aler), 4g^-[^i}). 

Red-winged blackbird (Ageiaius p/weniceus), 498-(3.i6). 

Meadow lark; field lark; meadow starling {SturneUamag\in), 
50i-(320). 

Orchard oriole {Icterus spiiritcs), 5o6-(324). 

Baltimore oriole; firebird; golden robin ; hang-nest (^Icterus 
galbula), 507-(326). 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. "303 

Rusty grackle ; rusty blackbird {Scolecofhagus CaroUmis), 509- 
(331). 

Crow blackbird; bronzed grackle {^liscalus qitisaila aeneiis), 
5iib-(337)- 

Family Fringillidae (finches and sparrows) : 

Evening grosbeak {Cocothraustes vesfertimis), 5i4-(i89). 
Pine grosbeak {Pinicola enucleator), 5i5-(i90). 
Purple finch {Carpodacus fu?-pure7is) , 5i7-(i94). 
House sparrow; English sparrow {Passer doviesliais), 000- 
(192). 

American crossbill; red crossbill {Loxia airvirosira minor), 
S2i-(i99). 

White-winged crossbill {Loxia leucoftera), 522-(i98). 

Redpole; red linnet; lesser redpole {AcantJiis linaria), 528- 
(207). 

Greater redpole {AcantJiis linaria rostrata), 528b-(2o8 part). 

American goldfinch ; yellow bird ; thistle h'wd {Spimis trisiis), 
529-(2i3). 

Pine siskin; pine finch; pine linnet {Sfimis finus), 533-(2i2). 

Snowflake; snow bunting {PlectropJicnax nivalis), 534-(2i9), 

Lapland longspur {Calcariits laf^onicns), 536-(22o). 

Vesper sparrow; bay-winged bunting; grass finch {Poocaetes 
graniineus), 540-(232). 

Savanna sparrow {Ammodramtcs sandzvichensis savanna), 54^a- 
(227). 

Henslow's sparrow ; Henslow bunting {Ammodra^nus henslozuii) , 
547-(236). 

White-crowned sparrow {Zonotrichia leucop/irys) , 5S4-(276). 

White-throated sparrow; Peabody bird {Zonotrichia albicollis) 
558-(275)._ 

Winter chippy; tree sparrow {Sfizclla monticola), 559-(268). 

Chipping sparrow; chippy; hair-bird {Spizella socialis), 560- 
(269). 

Field sparrow {Spizella pisilla), 563-(27i). 

Snowbird; junco ; black snowbird; slate-colored junco {Jiinco 
hyemalis), 567-(26i). 

Song sparrow {Melosfiza fasciata) ,581 -(242 ) . 

Lincoln's sparrow {Melospiza lincolni), 583-(242). 

Swamp sparrow {Melospiza Georgiana), 584-(243). 

Fox sparrow {Passer ella iliaca) ,"585-(282). 

Towhee; towhee bunting; joree ; chewink ; marsh robin (P/'/i-Z/o 
erythrophthalmiis) , 5 8 7- ( 3 o i ) . 

Rose-breasted grosbeak {Habia ludoviciana), 595-(289). 

Indigo bunting; indigo-bird; blue linnet {Passer ina cyanea), 
598-(295). -^ ^ 



304 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Family Tanagridae (tanagers) : 

Scarlet tanager ; black-winged redbird {^Piranga erythromclas), 

6o8-(i54). 

Summer tanager ; summer redbird {^Piranga rubra) , 6 io-( 155). 

Family Hirnndinidae (swallows) : 

Purple martin {Progna subis), 6ii-(i65). 

Cliff swallow; eave swallow; mud dauber {PetrochcUdon luni- 
frons), 6 1 2- (162). 

Barn swallow {Chelidoii eryikrogastcr) , 6i3-(i59). 
White-bellied swallow; tree swallow ( Tachycineta bicolor), 614— 

Bank swallow; sand martin; sand swallow (^Cliv/cola riparia), 
6i6-(i63). 

Family Ampeliae (waxwings) : 

Bohemian waxwing {Anipelis garrtilus) , 6 1 8— ( 1 66) . 
Cedar waxwing; cedar-bird; cherry-bird (^Ampelis cedroruni), 
619 (167). 

Famil}' Laniidac (shrikes) : 

Northern shrike; butcher-bird {Laniiis borealis), 621— (186). 
Loggerhead shrike {^L.aniiis liidovicianus) , 622— (187). 
White-rumped shrike [I^anius ludovicianiis excubitorides) , 622a— 
(188 part). 

Family Vireonidae (vireos) : 

Red-eyed vireo ; red-eyed greenlet ( Vireo olivaceus) , 624-( 1 70) . 
Philadelphia vireo ( Vireo Philadelphicus), 626-(i73). 
Warbling vireo; warbling greenlet ( Vireo gilvus) , 627-(i74). 
Yellow-throated vireo ( Vireo jiav if rons) , 628-(i76). 
Blue-headed vireo; solitary greenlet {Vireo solitariiis), 629- 

White-eved vireo ; white-eyed greenlet ( f7/vc» noveboracensis), 
63i-(i8ij. 

Family Mniotiltidae (wood warblers) : 

Black and white creeper ; black and white warbler {Mniotilta 
varia), 636-(9i, 92). 

Golden-winged warbler (^Helniinthophila chrysoptera), 642— 
(102). 

Nashville warbler {Helmmtkophila rujicapilla), 645-(io6). 

Oranged-crowned warbler {HeiminthopJiila celata), 646— (107). 

Tennessee warbler {Hclminthopiiila peregrina) , 647-(i09). 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



J^i 



Partila warbler ; blue yellow-backed warbler ( Com-psothly^is 
Aine7'icana), 648-(93 ) . 

Cape May warbler {Dend7'oica tigrina), 650-(i26). 

Yellow warbler; yellow bird; summer yellow bird; "wild ca- 
nary"' {^Dendroica acstiva), 652-(iii part). 

Black-throated h\ue\\?irh\er {Dcndj-oica caerulcscens) ,6^4-(^i 17). 

Yellow-rumped warbler; myrtle warbler {Dendroica coronata), 

655-(ii9)- 

Magnolia warbler; black and yellow warbler {Dcndroica macu- 
losa), 657-(i25). 

Chestnut-sided warbler (^Dendroica Pennsylvanica) , 659-(i24). 

Bay-breasted warbler (JDendroica casianea^, 660— (123). 

Black-poll warbler (^Dcndroica striata), 66 1-( 122). 

Blackburnian warbler ; orange-throated warbler {Dcndroica 
blackburniac), 662-(i2i). 

Black-throated green warbler {Dcndroica vircjis), 667-(ii2). 

Pine warbler; pine-creeping warbler {Dcndroica vigorsii), 671- 

(134). 

Yellow red-poll ; yellow palm warbler {Dcndroica ■pahnariun 
hypoc/irysca), 672a-(i33). 

Golden-crowned thrush ; oven bird {Seiuras autocapillus), 674— 

(134). 

Water thrush; water wagtail {Scinnis novcboraccnsis), 675- 
(136). 

Mourning warbler {Geothlypis Philadelphia), 679-(i42). 

Maryland yellow-throat ; yellow-throated ground warbler ( Geoth- 
lypis trichas), 681 -(141). 

Wilson's warbler ; green black-capped yellow warbler (^Sylvania 
piisilla), 685-(i47). 

Canadian warbler ; Canadian fly-catching warbler {Sylvania Can- 
adensis), 686-(i49). 

American redstart (^Sctofhaga ruticilla), 687-(i52). 

Family JMotaciUidac (wagtails and pipits) : 

American pipit; titlark {Anthus Pennsyhanicus), 6g'j-{^g). 

Family Troglodytidac (thrashers, wrens, etc.) : 

Catbird {Galeoscoptcs Carolinensis), ^04— {16). 
Brown thrasher; brown thrush; big brown wren {Harporhyn 
elms riifiis), 705-(i7). 

House wren {Troglodytes a'edon), 72i-(74). 
Winter wren {Trolodytcs hienialis), 722— (76). 

Family Certhiidac (creepers) : 
Brown creeper {Cert hia familiar is Americana), /26-{62). 



306 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Family Paridae (nuthatches and tits) : 

White-breasted nuthatch ; tomtit {Sitta Carolinensts), 'j2']-{^']). 
Red-belhed nuthatch; Canada nuthatch {Sttta Canadensis), 

728-(59). 

Chickadee; black-capped chickadee {Parus atricapillus), 7^^- 

(44). 

Hudsonian chickadee {^Pariis Htidsomcus), 740-(49.) 

Family Sylviidac (Old World warblers, kinglets and gnatcatchers) : 

Golden-crowned kinglet; golden crowned wren {^Regidus sa- 
trafa), 748-(34). 

Ruby-crowned kinglet (^Re^iiliis calendula^), 749-(33)- 
Blue-gray gnatcatcher {Polioptila caerulea^, 75i-(36). 

Family Turdidae (thrushes, bluebirds, and robins) : 

Wood thrush; song thrush {Tii-rdiis miistclinus), 755-(6). 
Wilson's thrush; tawney thrush; veery {Tiirdus fiisccscois). 

756-(7)- 

Gray-cheeked thrush {^Turdus aliciae'), 757-(i2). 

Bicknell's thrush ( Turd lis aliciac Bicknelli), 757a-(i2 part). 

Olive-backed thrush ; Swainson's thrush ; swamp robin ( T-iirdiis 
jistulatus Sivainsonii) , 75 8a-( 13). 

Hermit thrush ; cathedral bird ; swamp angel ( Tiirdiis aona- 
laschkac fallasii), 759a-( 10). 

American robin; robin (yMeriila migratoria), (i). 

Bluebird {Sialia sialis), 'j66-{2'/). 

The annual address before the New Hampshire game and fish 
league, at Manchester, N. H., April 7, 1885, by Hon. Henry O. 
Kent, is of such local interest and so applicable to Lancaster's 
fish and game, that we insert it here in part : 

Invited to address the fish and game league of the state, an organization whose 
labors have been of recognized usefulness to its people wherever known and 
understood, and to whose originators and founders they owe a debt of remem- 
brance and appreciation, as yet quite likely underrated and not understood, I hesi- 
tated to accept the pleasant assignment ; not from disinclination to contribute my 
mite of information or experience relative to the interesting and important topics 
involved, but because for many years I have not had leisure to indulge in the 
exhilarating and restful experiences incident to wooing the woods and the waters 
of our state, and therefore have no claim as a sportsman, even as an amateur, to 
address this assemblage. 

Among the incidents of my youth, — along with measles, spelling schools, and 
schoolboy loves, — was the not uncommon attack of cacoethcs scribendi, peculiar to 
imaginative and callow years; and the result, an intermittent eruption of metrical 
composition. At a later period, when, I trusted, this frivolity was forgotten, an 
appreciative friend of those earlier days solicited a " poem" to mark the anniver- 
sary of some local society ; in obedience to which request, and after several jerky 
attempts, the machine ground out its farewell to poesy in manner following . 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 307 

Long years have passed since last its crank 

Moved round at Poesy's decree. 
The flowers that then bespread each bank 

And blossomed o'er life's dewey lea 
In memory's gardens blossom still ; 

But the dull cares of daily life 
Have banished far my rhyming mill 

As little useful in the strife. 

And so, as there remained the memory, only, of sports once pleasantly familiar, 
I hesitated to exhibit my inexperience and unfamiliarity with the affairs of the 
present, and address this league of sportsmen. 

But your president is a gentleman fertile in expedient and fatal in plausi- 
bility, comprehensive in mental scope, and one on whose genial brow authority 
sits enthroned ; and so it came that when, in reply to my plea of long disuse and 
inexperience, he suggested tha.t I might properly present for your delectation the 
resources, the attractions, and the capacities (for business, pleasure, and sylvan 
sport) of my county of Coos, like the typical coon that I think must have given 
the memorable and historic response to Colonel Clarke instead of Captain Scott, 
I " came down," both from my tree of supposed vantage and from the highlands 
of Coos, to meet and address the sportsmen of the state by the Falls of Namos- 
keag, and to discuss, if not the Utopian desires of the epicures of ancient Derry- 
field as to the wants of this present world " and the world to come," the capaci- 
ties and attractions of Coos,' the importance of the revenues derived through the 
advent of pilgrims for health and exercise thereto to the revenues and prosperity 
of the state, and the magnitude of results involved in the propagation and pro- 
tection offish and game within our limits. 

Let us glance at the earlier history of our northern section, its traditions and 
peoples. 

When Col. John Goffe, of Bedford (for whom, I assume, was also named Goffe's 
Falls, on the Merrimack), raised, in 1763, under authority of Benning Wentworth, 
royal governor of the province of New Hampshire, his regiment, forming a part 
of the force intended, say the old commissions, "for tlie conquest of Canada," 
under command of General Amherst, his corps was filled by hardy pioneers and 
adventurers, ready to seek new homes on the borders of the receding wilderness. 
At the expiration of service in Canada, four of his officers, with a portion of his 
command, sought their homes on the Merrimack by the Indian trail from Cham- 
plain to the Connecticut and across the highlands of New Hampshire to their own 
river. Returning thus, they struck the Connecticut at the broad meadows now in 
Haverhill and Newbury, — then known in Indian legends as the Cohos, and returned 
there to aid in founding the towns referred to. As settlements extended up the 
stream, and broad meadows were found and occupied on the present site of Lan- 
caster, that region was called the " Upper Cohos;" and later, when quaint Philip 
Carrigain, the genial Irish secretary of state, whose map is even now the most 
desirable authority on New Hampshire as it was, visited the more recent settle- 
ments under the shadow of the lesser Monadnock at Colebrook, forty miles north 
of Lancaster, he bestowed upon that section the title of " the Cohos ado7'e ihe 
upper Cohos," the territory designated thus, being the old home of the Coo-ash- 
auke Indians and now nearly all included in the limits of Coos county. 

The name " Cobs" is derived from the Indian word '• Cohos," of the dialect of 
the Abernaqiiis, a confederacy of tribes once inhabiting New Hampshire, western 
Maine, and northerly to the St. Lawrence river. The word is further derived from 
" Coo-ash," signifying j?^/«,?j'. It is known that the Indian inhabitants of a section 
were generally entitled by some name descriptive thereof, and the tribe occupy- 
ing this region was known as the " Coo-ash-aukes." or Dwellers in the Pine Tree 
Country, from Coo-ash, pines, and a^tke, place. This title applied especially to 



308 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the locality and inhabitants north of the mountains and along the Connecticut 
valley above Moosilaukc. 

The outlet of Massabesic lake is still known by its Indian name " Cohos 
brook,"' and the country around was once a dense forest of pines — Coo-ash. It 
seems probable that this name- — Cooash — was carried north by Indian exiles 
from the lower Merrimack, when driven from their old abodes by the advance of 
the whites — to seek, as says the chronicler, a new home, "around the head 
waters of the Connecticut," and we learn, in corroboration of Indian occupancy 
of this section at this period — that after the massacre at Cocheco (Dover) in 
1689, instigated by Kan-ca-ma-gus, he and his followers fled north " and joined 
the bands at the sources of the Saco, Amariscoggin, and Connecticut " — the Coo- 
ash region. The streams in this section abounding in trout — their native food — 
all the way from the lower to the upper Cohos, the territory became known as 
their Na»iaos-coo-auke, or pine-tree fishing-place — a nomenclature transformed 
and perpetuated in the modern name " Ammonoosuc," still held by three streams 
within this ancient domain. 

The wild and picturesque river, rushing down from the slopes of Waumbek 
Methna through the rich meadows of Lancaster to join the Connecticut, is said to 
have borne the Indian name Sin-gra-ivae \ but as this word is unknown in deriva- 
tion it is probable that the name Si-woog-an-atike, itself a corruption of Sawa-coo- 
nauke, signifying " burnt pine place," is nearer, if not the exact name, thus 
defined and corrected. It is easy to believe that away back in the dusk of tradi- 
tion, the country had been despoiled by fire of its growth of pines, the legend only 
remaining to supply the name. 

The Canadian home or head village of the Cooash-aukes was at Abenaquis, or 
St. Francis, as their settlement is still called, on the St. Lawrence. After the 
defeat of the Pequakets by Lovewell, in 1725, the broken remnant of that tribe 
retired to St. Francis ; and the bands, invading or occupying our present terri- 
tory, were more frequently known as the "St. Francis Indians " than by their 
original designation as Abenaquis or Coo-ash-aukes. 

Descendants of these broken tribes still live in the village of St. Francis. 
Among those who returned to their old hunting-grounds in New Hampshire were 
two families of distinction, of which the chiefs were known as " Captain Joe" and 
"Captain John." They were active in pre-Revolutionary days, and both took 
part with the colonists in that struggle. "Old Joe" died at Newbury, in the 
" Lower Cohos," in 18 19, and is buried in the original cemetery of the town at 
the Ox Bow. Captain John led a small party of Indians, enlisted from Cohos 
and vicinity, and received a captain's commission. He died a violent death after 
peace had been restored, and was also buried at the Lower Cohos. He was known 
among che Indians as Soosup or Snssup, and left one son called " Pial Sussup," 
— " Pial " being the Indian for Philip. There is some reason for the belief that 
this " Pial," son and heir of Captain John, an original Coo-ash-auke chief, who 
went from the Upper Cohos to St. Francis or Abenaquis, and who returned to aid 
the patriots, with a small band of Cohos Indians, was the " Philip. Indian chief, 
resident in Upper Cohos and chief thereof," who gave to Thomas Fames of 
Northumberland the now famous deed of June 8, 1796, conveying to him and his 
associates the present county of Coos, together with a portion of the county of 
Oxford in Maine, then a part of Massachusetts ; being the instrument known as 
the " King Philip Deed." 

While it is a source of regret that the descriptive and euphonious nomenclature 
of the aborigines, has largely disappeared from the hills and streams of their 
hunting-grounds, it is a source of pleasure that it is occasionally retained, Whit- 
tier, in his "Bridal of Penacook," having embalmed in imperishable verse 
several of the ancient designations, two of which pertain to the country of the Coo- 
ash-aukes. He say's : 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 309 

" They came from Sunapee's shores of rock — 
From the snowy source of Si-woo-ga-nock, 
From rough Coos, whose wild woods shake 
Their pine cones in Umbagog Lake." 

That the white settlers of modern Coos were of English origin is evident from 
the nomenclature of the towns, which, indeed, granted by an English governor- 
general, would naturally be of English derivation. Hence the name of the ducal 
and royal house of Lancaster applied to the earlier and principal settlement, 
Northumberland, Percy, Dartmouth, and Cockburne ; while the name of the 
family manor of the Wentworths at Bretton, in the county of York (the ancient 
seat being ''Bretton Hall") is duplicated in "Bretton Woods," now Carroll, 
where, there is reason to believe, it was the original intent to erect an American 
barony. 

Before bidding farewell to the aboriginal inhabitants of Coos, the earliest 
hunters, when fish and game did so abound-; shall I weary your patience and 
demonstrate anew my peculiarities as orator of this occasion if I give to you the 
story of Metallak as it was told to me in boyhood in the woods — Metallak, the 
last of the Abenaquis in Cohos, the final hunter of the Coo-ash-aukes over the 
territory of his fathers? 

Sportsmen who voyage up the Magalloway, to or through Parmachene, or over 
those delightful bodies of water prosaically known as the " Rangely Lakes," hear 
frequent mention of the word "Metallak." It is preserved in the name of the 
point once running out into IMollychunkamunk, now submerged by the accumu- 
lated waters of the " Improvement Company ; " in a brook running into the Magal- 
loway, and in an island in lower Umbagog. 

It is true that Captain Farrar, with rare denseness of appreciation, has bestowed 
the name "Metallic" in his guide-books, alike upon chief and localities, as 
though the one were really a specimen of native copper, and the other the loca- 
tion of mineral deposits. Yet there are those who knew these woods and waters 
before the invasion of the vandals or the days of guide-books ; and to them the 
old nomenclature is dear, to be perpetuated when the days of the iconoclasts are 
ended. And so, despite guide-books and modern " discoverers," we retain the 
memory and the name of " Metallak," and tell his story here. 

Metallak was the son of a chief, and from his earliest youth was taught the use 
of weapons and the craft of the woods. He grew up tall, lithe, and active, the 
pride of his tribe ; and, after its custom, took to his wigwam the fairest among 
its maidens. He built his lodge in the old home of his tribe, the Coo-ash- 
aukes, on the waters of the Amariscoggin ; and for her ransacked the woods 
for the softest furs and the choicest game. Two children, a son and daughter, 
came to them, and gave to the parents' hearts the joy that is born of offspring. 
Years sped ; the old chief by the St. Lawrence died, and Metallak was the head 
of his tribe. The frown of the Great Spirit was dark upon his people. One by 
one its warriors in the woods sickened and passed away. Metallak, in his lodge 
on the point in the lake, watched and mourned the downfall of his race ; and 
swift runners told him how the stately tree of his tribe was stripped of its branches ; 
but his mate and his children were left to him, and he vowed to the Great Spirit 
to remain on the hunting-grounds of his tribe until he should be called to the 
happy hunting-grounds of his fathers. Gradually, as fall the leaves of the forest 
when the winds of autumn are abroad, fell the once mighty Abenaquis, until 
Metallak and his family were alone. The son, not sharing the stern feeling of 
the sire, as he grew older sighed for the society of the pale faces, and left the 
lodge in the forest to find a home with the new companions of his choice. The 
daughter had visited at St. Francis, and had joined her fate with a young warrior 
of the tribe, before the great sickness that decimated them; and he, with the 



3IO HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

English goods, easy of attainment, had robed his dusky bride in garments that a 
white woman might envy. 5he is represented as strikingly beautiful, and when 
she visited her father in the wilderness he was almost awed by her charms and 
her queenly attire. 

About this time, while closing a moccasin, Metallak had the misfortune to lose 
an eye. Time sped. The bride of his youth sickened and died, — a sad blow for 
the desolate chief. She who entered his lodge when youth was high and his 
tribe had a place in the land, who had, with him, endured long years of adversity, 
was called, and he was alone. 

Mournfully he laid the body in his canoe, together with the trinkets which in 
life had been dear to her, and gliding out from the sheltered shore took his way 
across the narrow strait and down its course to the broad reach of Mollychunk- 
amunk, past the whispering pines and sunny beaches, guided by the roar of 
Amariscoggin, where he shoots his crested waters toward the more quiet expanse 
of Umbagog. Entering the rapids he sat erect in the stern of his canoe — his 
beloved and lost companion in repose before him — and with skilful hand guided 
the frail bark with its precious burden through the seething waters, past danger- 
ous rock and whirling eddy, until it shot out upon the sunlit expanse of the lower 
lake ; still down, past where the river debouches on its way to the sea, to where, 
in the broad expanse, rises the green island that now bears his name. Here he 
dug her grave and buried her, after the fashion of his people ; and without a tear 
seated himself upon the mound. Night came, but he moved not ; the wolf howled 
from the mainland, the song of the night-wind was on the air ; but he heeded 
not ; morning came and passed ; night again and morning ; and still he sat upon 
the grave. It was not until the morning of the third day that he left the sacred 
spot. He built him a hut near it, leaving it only to procure necessary sustenance. 
Years went by, during which he was occasionally seen by the hunters and trap- 
pers who visited the region, but his eye had lost its fire, and his step was less 
firm than of old. In the year 1846 two hunters came across him in the woods. 
It was in November, and a very rainy time. He had fallen down, and upon a 
stub, thus extinguishing his remaining eye. He was without lire or food, and 
upon the point of starvation. They built a fire, collected wood, gave him provi- 
sions, and left him for assistance. With this they returned, and carried him to 
Stewartstown, on the Connecticut, where he lingered a few years, a public charge 
on the county of Coos. He now rests apart from the wife he loved so well ; but 
his name and memory linger in the haunts of his manhood ; and reference to the 
modern hunting-grounds of Coos would be incomplete without the story of Metal- 
lak, — the last of his race within our present boundaries, the last hunter of the 
ancient Coo-ash-aukes. 

To the story of Metallak let me append the story and the tragedy of two w/iite 
hunters on the same grounds ; — the story of Robbins, the murderer, and his vic- 
tim, Hines. 

Where the Diamond glances down from the forests of College Grant, entering 
the Magalloway under the shadow of Mount Dustin, is a farm originally cleared 
by a hunter named Robbins. He was a stern, vindictive man, and wild stories 
were early abroad concerning his deeds. In the fall of 1S26, in company with 
several companions — Hines, Cloutman, and Hayes, — all hunters by profession, 
he went upon the Androscoggin waters to trap sable. The party continued their 
hunt successfully until the first snows fell, when, leaving Robbins in care of the 
property, his comrades started on a last visit to the traps, extending over a line 
of twenty miles. On their return the camp was found burned and Robbins and 
the furs gone. They were without provisions and sixty miles from inhabitants ; 
but with great privation and suffering they were able to work their way into the 
settlements. On their return they instituted a suit in the courts of Coos county 
against Robbins, which was carried to a successful conclusion and execution was 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 311 

issued. Spring again came around, when Robbins proposed to Hines to hunt 
once more, promismg to turn his share of the proceeds towards the extinguish- 
ment of the adjudged debt. Hines consented, and taking with him his son of 
fifteen years, proceeded to the hunting-grounds around Parmachene lake. Again 
they were successful, when one day, as Hines was returning to camp, he was met 
by Robbins and shot. The boy was killed by a blow from a hatchet and Rob- 
bins was lett with the bloody spoil. The bodies were found and a search insti- 
tuted. Robbins was arrested in the woods by Lewis Loomis and Hezekiah Par- 
sons of Colebrook, after a desperate resistance, and lodged in Lancaster jail. 
Having some confederate, he obtained tools and commenced preparations for his 
escape. Working diligently at the window of his room, in the old Elm Tree jail, 
he succeeded in loosening the gratings, each day concealing his work by hang- 
ing over it his blanket, under the pretext that the room was cold, and the window 
admitted air. When all was in readiness, he made his exit, and the night before 
his trial was to have commenced he was missing, nor was any search successful. 
Public opinion was strongly against the jailer, as being in league with the prisoner, 
and was near manifesting itself in a rude manner. Strange rumors were afloat 
lor years concerning his whereabouts and career, but nothing definite was known 
by the pubhc ot his subsequent life or final decease. 

FISH AND GAME. 

I well remember, as a boy, that a fine string of trout could always be easily 
taken from the bridge on Main street across Isreals river in Lancaster, and 
that a local character, one Tinker Wade, was accustomed frequently to secure a ' 
peck or more of these luscious fish by the clumsy process of mixing powdered 
coccuhis tndicus with bran, making pellets, which thrown at random upon the 
water rom this bridge would be speedily devoured by the jumping trout to intox- 
icate them, when they would leap out of the water or float upon its surface, an 
easy spoil to the hand or the stick of the tinker. 

The entire Cohos country, at the time of its settlement by the whites, abounded 
in tish and game, and, indeed, was among the most prolific of the huntin<r- 
grounds of the aborigines. For many years after settlers had opened up the 
forest all over this extent of territory, and, indeed, after considerable towns had 
sprung up therein, the game of the woods and the fish of the streams existed in 
prolusion, but the advance of clearings, the lumber operations, and the century 
of hunting and fishing that has followed has materially diminished the supply and 
exterminated some species. Of the larger game, it is rare to find a moose or 
caribou, a wolt or a beaver. Salmon have entirely disappeared, and trout, in 
many once prolific localities, seem to be vanishing as did the salmon and shad. 
It IS only in the secluded ponds and the small streams above the mills in the 
torests that trout are now taken. 

When settlers from the lower Cohos penetrated the wilderness covering the 
present county of Cods, they found in abundance the moose, caribou, deer, the 
wolf, the bear, the lynx, the otter, the beaver, the red and cross fox, the marten 
or sable, the mink, the muskrat, the hedgehog, the woodchuck. Of birds, the 
partridge or rufted grouse, and pigeon ; and of fish, the salmon, and perhaps the 
shad, and trout. So common were the moose, that it was not unusual for scores 
to be slain by a single hunter in a season. The greatest destruction of this ani- 
mal occurred annually in March, when the snow was deep and had stiff-ened after 
a thaw. They were then destroyed by professional hunters, who took only the 
skin, tallow, and nose, which last named part, together with a beaver's tail, were 
favorite tid-bits to the epicures of the forest. One season, a hunter named 
r|.athan Caswell killed ninety-nine moose in the vicinity of Lancaster, most of 
them wantonly, not even saving the tallow or skins. This wasteful outrage so 



312 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

brought him into disrepute with the settlers that they refused him their houses, 
and finally drove him from the region. 

Later, moose were plenty around the head waters of the Connecticut, but 
being hunted with dogs and on the crust, they were soon practically exterminated. 
It is told that one of the Hilliards destroyed eighty in one season, after which 
wholesale massacre, they practically disappeared. South of Lancaster village, and 
in the town limits, rise three conical peaks, Mounts Orne, Pleasant, and Prospect, 
knovi'n as the " Martin Meadow Hills," and south of Mounts Pleasant and Orne 
is a sheet of water of about four hundred acres, known as " Martin Meadow 
Pond." This was a favorite resort for moose and deer, and an unfailing rendez- 
vous for the settler, when " the family was out of meat." This pond was in the 
low pine territory extending through parts of Dalton, Carroll, Whitefield, and 
Jefferson, in which last named town is " Pondicherry," or Cherry pond, at the 
northern base of Cherry Mountain, the entire region, in the early days, being 
a favorite resort of the moose. To illustrate their abundance, I quote from an 
old manuscript in my possession, written by the late Hon. John W. Weeks. 

"An early settler, by the name of Dennis Stanley, a lieutenant in the Conti- 
nental army, and a man of strong mind and perfect veracity, informed the writer 
that being ' out of meat and wanting a moose skin to buy a certain luxury, then 
much used, and too often at the present day (New England rum), went alone to 
Cherry pond for a supply, carrying his old gun, which had been so much used 
that by turning powder into the barrel, it would prime itself. He had scarcely 
struck fire in his camp when he heard several moose, wading from the shallow 
side of the pond toward deep water. He then uncorked his powder-horn, put 
several bullets in his mouth and waited until the moose in front was nearly 
immersed in water. He then waded in, where the water was about one foot in 
depth, and took his position, not in the rear of the moose, lest they should swim 
over the pond ; but at a right angle with their track and at easy musket shot from 
it. On his appearance, the moose — four in number — as he had anticipated, 
chose rather to wade back than to swim over, and commenced their retreat in the 
same order in which they had entered the pond ; that was, one behind the other, 
at some distance apart. In a moment, the moose that had been in the rear was 
now in front in the retreat, and coming within reach, he was shot at ; the powder- 
horn was then applied to the muzzle of the gun, a bullet followed from his mouth 
with the celerity which hunters only know; the second moose was fired at; the 
third and fourth in rapid succession, when Lieutenant Stanley found time to give 
■a. fifth discharge at the moose in the rear. Three fell at the water's edge, the 
other staggered to the top of the bank, where he fell dead." 

The moose seems almost to have been an antediluvian animal and out of place 
in the highlands of New England. The long fore legs precluded grazing from 
level ground, or from drinking from the level of its feet. It could only browse on 
twigs and trees, sometimes inserting its teeth through the bark, stripping it off 
and masticating as it raised its head. I remember, while on the state boundary 
in 1858, after seeing moose signs, coming upon a mountain ash that had been 
stripped in the manner indicated, to a height of thirteen feet from the ground. 
Another peculiarity of the moose was the uncouth long upper lip, prehensile 
almost like a trunk, the broad nostrils that could be tightly closed, the false lid to 
the eye, all indicating the adaptability of the animal to feed under water; and 
indeed it was and is their custom, as is well known, to congregate in the soft, 
muddy margins of the ponds, feeding largely on lily pads and the roots of the 
pond lily, which they tore up from beneath the water. 

Major Weeks's manuscript, before referred to, gives this description of the horns 
of this forest monarch : "Nothing can exceed the symmetry and beauty of the 
limbs and horns of the moose. The round part of the horns, or that next the 
head, is about fourteen inches in length, when it becomes palmated, and is in 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 313 

some instances twelve inches broad, surmounted, in one instance, told me by 
Edward Spaulding, now living (1839), ^Y seventeen spikes on each horn. A 
horn now before me is one and one half inches in diameter at the base, and eight 
inches in length, terminating in a point. The largest class of horns spread five 
feet, and weigh about live hundred pounds." 

The last moose familiar to Lancaster people was one owned and kept by Louis 
Annance, a St. Francis Indian, who forty-five years ago had a lodge a mile east 
of the village, near the Sawacoonauk or Isreals river. Annance was a iame 
Indian, and a member of the Ancient Masonic Lodge at Lancaster. He, how- 
ever, lived in the style of his fathers — his pappooses were strapped to boards and 
hung up in the lodge or carried on the back when traveling, and the moose was 
kept for exhibition. 

From the manuscript of Major Weeks before referred to, I copy a description 
of the location of these animals together with some hints as to their habits. 

About two miles southwest of the town centre is a large tract of alluvial land 
called " Martin Meadow" (the meadows in the present school district No. 2), from 
an early hunter whose name was Martin. He caught an immense number of 
beaver from Beaver brook, which meanders through the meadow ; beaver dams 
on this brook can yet be traced in one instance for about fifty rods in length and 
near five feet in height. There are others of less extent, yet all exhibiting extra- 
ordinary skill and ingenuity, superior to some bipeds who attempt the erection of 
dams. The banks of this brook are perforated in hundreds of places, which show 
the former residences of bank beaver, a kind smaller than those wonderful archi- 
tects who build dams and erect houses, several feet in diameter, with a layer of 
poles through the middle which divides them into two stories, in one of which, 
their food for winter, consisting of bark and small poles, cut about two feet in 
length, is deposited, while the other, covered with leaves, is their resting place 
during the inclement season. The entrance to both kinds of habitation is always 
below low water mark, from which point they ascend, through a subterranean 
passage, often several rods long, to their dark, yet comfortable, abode. 

The Beaver brook, here referred to, from the clearing up of the land around its 
sources, has much shrunk in volume, and now flows sluggishly through the low 
meadow, known to its owners as "the bog." It enters the Connecticut near the 
" Brick Schoolhouse," near which was the residence of Edwards Bucknam, a 
follower of " Governor Page,"' the first settler of the town. " He was a man,'" 
says the record, " of unbounded hospitality and usefulness, was a dead shot with 
his ' smooth bore,' could draw teeth, let blood, perform the duties of priest in 
marrying, was one of the most skilful and accurate surveyors in the state, was 
proprietor and town clerk (his house and records being destroyed by fire in 
1772), was afterwards general of militia, became regardless of property and died 
poor." It may be added that he was buried near his home, on the heights of a 
promontory overlooking the valley, where for an hundred years the whispering 
branches of the sentinel pines, standing over his lonely and unmarked grave, 
have told his story to the winds and sighed his requiem. 

Wolves were frequent in the Cohos country at the time of its settlement, and 
did not entirely disappear until within the last thirty years. Old residents of 
Lancaster have informed me that they frequently heard, thirt3--five years ago, the 
howl of the wolf from the woods east of the village, not more than half a mile 
distant. The last wolf captured in that town was about 1840, and by Mr. 
Edward Spaulding, then an old man, and one of the first white persons in town. 
He had set a trap on the northern slope of Mount Pleasant, near his farmhouse 
and south of the village, and repairing to it found therein a large •gray wolf. The 
animal, by its struggles, was in danger of freeing himself, when Mr. Spaulding 
attacked him with a stake which lie carried, and succeeded in disabling and finally 
killing him. I well remember, as a child, the sight of the skin as shown in the 



314 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

village, and of the wondering interest with which I listened to the story of the 
battle between the old man with his club and the gaunt monster of the forests. 

As exhibiting the numbers and ferocity of these dread animals during the 
earlier settlement of the Cohos country, I give the following incident, told me by 
my mother, who had it from her great-grandfather, John Mann, the first settler of 
Orford in the Lower Cohos, who came to that town in 1765, commencing his first 
house and clearing on the Connecticut interval, a little west of where the present 
homestead stands, on the broad main street running through that pleasant village. 

Mr. Mann was engaged in clearing, and had in his employ a stalwart negro, 
who is remembered by tradition as especially powerful and fearless. Wolves 
abounded and were exceedingly fierce; indeed it was the custom to leave the 
woods, where choppers were engaged, each day before sundown. On the occa- 
sion referred to, the sun going down behind the hills on the west side of the Con- 
necticut, and the shadows beginning to darken the recesses of the forest, grand- 
father shouldered his ax, telling the negro to follow him, in his return to the 
house and security. The man was engaged on a giant tree and hesitated, saying 
that he meant to lay that low before leaving. Telling him that it was unsafe to 
remain, and bidding him follow, Mr. Mann started for home, expecting the black 
to obey him. Arrived there, he discovered that he was alone, but momentarily 
expected the arrival of the other. Night came but not the negro, and a great 
noise of wolves was heard in the woods he had left. It would have been death to 
return in the darkness alone, and through the hours of that long night, amid the 
howls from the forest, he waited, powerless to help or save. With the morning 
light he hastened to the spot where he left the man the day before, to find seven 
wolves lying dead, a bloody ax, and the ghastly relics of the daring fellow, who 
had remained at his work too long. He had been attacked by a lavenous pack, 
selling his life after a terrific struggle. I have never seen this incident in print, 
but I heard it in my childhood, and recently it was again told me, as it came from 
the aged pioneer, who told it to his great-grandchild in her girlhood. 

Deer abounded, but are now rare. They were finally driven away by chasing 
them with dogs, nor will they be plenty in the deep woods that yet remain if this 
practice is continued. Dogs follow them on the crust, as the wolves used to 
pursue and exterminate them, and the more limited forest area, together with the 
increased number of hunters in later years, has accomplished what the wolves 
failed to do, driven the deer absolutely from broad areas of our country. It is 
believed that where deer still remain, hunting with firearms alone will not 
depopulate or drive them away, but they fly from the lands when dogs are put 
upon their trail. 

Deer formerly existed in vast numbers in the pine forests of Jefferson, Carroll, 
Whitefield, Dalton, and the southern part of Lancaster. This abundance was 
largely due to an agreement among the people of those towns to keep dogs off the 
deer, and many dogs were killed that they might not chase them. Another 
reason for the plentiful supply, aside from their natural fecundity and increase 
when in a manner protected, was because they fled from hunters and hounds used 
for their capture around Littleton and adjacent forests in Vermont. One hunter 
in Lancaster took forty deer in one season, and Mr. James B. Weeks one year, 
without effort or chase, shot fifteen from his farm on the southern slope of Mount 
Prospect. Deer are now comparatively rare. 

The black bear was very common, and indeed is now frequently taken in Coos. 
A summer rarely passes wherein one or more are not captured on the slopes of 
the Pilot range and Starr King, not more than four or five miles from Lancaster 
village. The animal lives on roots and weeds, with occasional variations of diet, 
comprising berries, green corn, or a fat sheep from the outlying flock. He 
enjoys the wild turnip and other indigenous roots, digging them with one claw 
as neatly as a man would run his forefinger around in mellow ground ; briefly. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 315 

the food of the bear is whatever a hog eats, with mutton extra. They seldom 
attack men ; hardly ever unless in defence of their young. 

_ Partridges, or ruffed grouse, were once, and until quite recently, very plenty • 
just now, however, they are rare. This scarcity is attributable to the large 
increase of the red fox, who preys upon him with devastating effect. Reynardls 
not now poisoned as formerly, and hence has largely multiplied. His pelts 
abound in the country stores, and his tracks, after a light snow, trace a 
labyrinth over every field and hillside. Partridges have disappeared before him. 
The wild pigeon, once also very plenty, is now comparatively rare. Thirty 
years ago every buckwheat field in the fall swarmed with pigeons. They had 
regular roosts, from which they swarmed down on the fields ; "an old device was 
to have a " pigeon bed " for a decoy, with a net so arranged as to be thrown over 
the bed at will, when the birds had alighted. I have the experience of a present 
citizen of Lancaster, who informs me that when a boy he caught forty dozen 
pigeons one autumn, from a bed on his father's farm on iMt. Prospect. 
_ In the autumn of 1844 James W. Weeks of Lancaster was engaged in surveys 
in the extreme northern part of the county, near the boundary range. He says 
that he then on one occasion passed through a "pigeon roost" extending over a 
two hours' walk, the trees being full of nests built upon crossed twigs laid upon 
the branches; the ground literally sprinkled with shells beneath them. 

Salmon ceased in Cohos about 1808. Up to that time they came up the Con- 
necticut at least so far as Stewartstown, forty-five miles north of Lancaster, there 
being a notable place there known as the "Salmon Hole." They abounded in 
Lancaster and ascended the Ammonoosuc so far as the Fabyan place in the White 
Mountains. Mr. Edward Spaulding of Lancaster used to say that the early settlers 
relied as much on catching and salting down an annual barrel of salmon, as later 
farmers did upon salting down the yearly supply of pork. In the great eddy at 
the head of the "Fifteen Mile Falls " in Dalton, near the mouth of "John's 
river," the location ot Captain John Stark's capture by the Indians, was a famous 
" salmon hole," where the noble fish apparently rested in the somewhat cooler 
water discharged by the smaller stream, after the ascent of the falls Here 
people resorted from all the region round about, as they did to Namoskea^r 
and for a similar purpose. At the mouth of the Isreals river in Lancaster was\ 
similar salmon hole. 

The first dam across the Connecticut in Massachusetts was built about the end 
of the last century; but these early dams, lower, and equipped with "aprons," 
did not offer the obstacles to the ascent of the stream bv these vigorous fish pre- 
sented by their successors; and so the salmon, in lessened numbers, continued 
to return from the sea, until higher dams impeded their progress. 

Recent efforts to restock the Connecticut and some of it's tributaries with this 
fish have been only moderately successful, and can never be of practical avail 
until generous fishways are constructed at all the obstructing dams. 

There is little absolute certainty that shad were once common to our waters, 
although at Littleton, in Grafton countv, there is a record, in 1792, of the elec- 
tion of "inspectors of salmon and shad," leaving the presumption that shad were 
then known there. If so, they doubtless came higher up the streams. 

Trout, the natural and delicious fish of New England, once peopled, in 
crowded abtindance, every stream of our hills and ponds of our valleys. They have 
in some places disappeared before the voracious pickerel, but the sawdust of the 
lumberman is more fatal to them than the hunger of this destrover or the arts of 
the angler. The day has passed when the local bard could 'truthfully record 

" In the silent hollows, 

The red trout groweth prime 

For the miller and the miller's son 

To angle when they 've time." 



3l6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

For then, lulled, almost, by the drowsy monotone of the grist mills, the trout 
slumbered in each alder-shaded pool of all our streams. 

Wherever there is a sawmill the dust clogs the stream and the trout disappear 
from below it. For trout to propagate and multiply, clear water is essential, with 
a reasonable large reach of still, deep water for a winter retreat. Obstacles 
removed, they suddenly reappear and rapidly multiply. A few years ago an old 
dam on the Otter brook, in Lancaster, was down and free egress given to the 
waters of the stream ; sawdust also ceased. A gentleman, going his rounds on 
the meadow below, saw in a shallow pool in the grass, several trout; procuring a 
handful of shingles, by sticking them down, he cut off their retreat, and by gradu- 
ally advancing them, worked the fish upon the dry land, when he took eighteen 
fine trout, half filling a Shaker pail and weighing about one pound apiece. These 
fish had come down through the broken dam on the first opportunity and, in the 
absence of obstructions and the fatal sawdust, had multiplied and thriven. If the 
day ever comes when our streams are pure, they will again be filled with this 
delicious fish. 



CHAPTER II. 

LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AND CEMETERIES. 

The Derivation of the Names of Localities and Places in and 

ABOUT Lancaster. 

By Hon. James \V. Weeks. 

Lancaster and Lunenburg were undoubtedly named from the 
Massachusetts towns of the same name. It is reasonable to so 
attribute them, inasmuch as many of the original grantees were from 
the immediate vicinity of those Worcester county towns. 

Marthi's Mcadozv. — According to tradition one Martin in very 
■early times trapped beaver on the vast meadows to which his name 
in time became attached. He seems, whoever he was, to have been 
of a roving disposition, and discovering these beaver meadows was 
accustomed to come to them to replenish his stores of furs. No 
one ever knew where he came from or where he went. He must 
have come here a long time before the first settlers, for when they 
arrived they found the beaver dams somewhat gone into decay and 
the meadows covered with grass as the waters had receded. The 
fact of that meadow affording vast quantities of hay determined the 
first settlers to locate near it, as did the presence of grass on the 
Connecticut river determine the settlement of Stockwell and Page 
far up that stream. Major Weeks is authority for the statement 
that the beaver dams were five feet high, as much as fifty rods long, 
and covered with trees in his day. This fact would indicate vast 
numbers of them, and a long and uninterrupted occupancy of the 
streams to accomplish such stupendous results. Re-v. Stephen Wil- 
liams, who, with his father, was captured by the Indians at the sack- 




White Mountains from District No. io. 









Makux .Mi:auow Pond. 



LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AN® CEMETERIES. 317 

ing of Deerfield in 1 704, and hunted and fished with them in Lower 
Coos for a long time, says in his diary, "We killed on one brook as 
many as eighty beavers." It is not unlikely that they visited this 
famous home of the beaver. At all events they must have been 
equally abundant here, from which fact the meadow is rightly 
named. The hills and pond adjacent to the stream and meadows 
have taken the same name — Martin Meadow hills, Martin Meadow 
pond. 

Isreals River and 'Johns River. — These streams were named 
after Isreal and John Glines, brothers, who trapped along their 
waters. Each one located his camp on the stream that after a time 
w^as referred to as his river. At just what date they located here is 
not definitely known ; but Johns river was known by that name 
when John Stark, who was captured by the Indians and carried to 
Canada in 1752, camped near the mouth of the river, and refers to 
it b}' that name in the account of his captivity. A tradition, accord- 
ing to General Bucknam, as related by Esquire Brackett, was that 
sometime prior to 1752, John Glines was passing up the Connecti- 
cut river in his canoe when an Indian shot at him from the shore, 
and missing his aim, Glines returned the fire killing the Indian. 
That, of course, made it unsafe for him to remain in the vicinity, as 
there was an unfriendly feeling existing between the Indians and 
whites at the time. The Glines brothers were said to have been 
connections of ]\Irs. Sally (Bishop) Stanley, and came from Bos- 
cawen, then Contoocook. 

Inelian Brook. — This brook running through the village, cross- 
ing North Main street near the jail, derives its name from the cir- 
cumstance of a few Indian families having their wigwams near its 
mouth shortly after the first settlers came here. There is a tradi- 
tion that one squaw died and was buried there, but that a short 
time afterward her bones were dug up and carried to Canada for 
Christian interment under auspices of Jesuit missionaries, who in 
those days exercised a great influence over the Indians of the region 
north of here who frequently sojourned along the head waters of 
the Connecticut. 

Nash Stream. — This stream was named for one Sam Nash, a 
vagabond hunter, who hunted in that vicinity, and hung about 
Lieutenant Stanley's in hope of getting food and shelter from Mr. 
Stanley. 

Nash and Sawyer^ s Location. — This location was named for 
Timothy Nash and Benjamin Sawyer, the former of Lancaster and 
the latter of Conway. They obtained a grant of land in 1771, in 
consideration of building a road through the Notch of the White 
Mountains. The whole of the grant laid to the west of the 'Notch, 
and was surveyed by Edwards Bucknam in 1773. Much has been 




3l8 HI8T0RY OF LANCASTER. 

written and published concerning the discovery and improvement of 
the roadway through the Notch, and also concerning the names of 
the builders of that road that is misleading, which calls for correc- 
tion at our hands. Timothy Nash was a citizen of Lancaster. On 
the 1 2th of March, 1772, he was appointed one of a committee " to 
look out and mark out a road to Pigwaket." Nash had discovered 
the pass in 1771, while pursuing a moose which disappeared 
through the Notch. Confiding his secret to Sawyer, they hastened 
to the governor and got themselves appointed on a committee to 
lay out a road through the newly-discovered mountain pass, then an 
Indian trail of which there was legend. Sawyer does not seem to 
have had anything to do with the road north of the mountains. He 
was a well-known character about Conway, where many interesting 
anecdotes were told of him. 

Sawyer'' s Rock derived its name from the fact that Benjamin 
Sawyer on one occasion was pursuing a moose that tried to ascend 
the rock, which was covered with ice, and fell backward off it, upon 
which Sawyer ran up and cut his " hamstrings " with a knife, a feat 
that brought to him great renown among the pioneers. 

Bitrnside Mcadozvs. — The extensive meadows of that name 
located in Lancaster and Northumberland, were originally beaver 
meadows to which one Burnside resorted for grass to feed his stock 
as he had not at the time of his settling in Northumberland cleared 
enough land to produce hay for stock. 

Burnside Brook. — This is the brook running through Burnside 
Meadows, and derived its name from the same source — Thomas 
Burnside. 

Otter Brook. — A small stream that empties into Isreals river 
from the north about half way between Lancaster Village and Jeffer- 
son Mills. It got its name from the otter that inhabited it in vast 
numbers. In the early records of the town it was known as Great 
brook also. The farm on which Spofford A. Way lives was named 
" Great Brook Farm " by Titus O. Brown, who lived upon it about 
that time, and upon which he raised the tobacco that formed the 
first article of commerce shipped through the White Mountain Notch 
road toward the sea-coast from Lancaster. 

Great Brook. — This brook, as known to-day, was first called 
Marden's brook, but at a later date was changed to its present 
name, and with the smaller stream running between the houses of 
James and John Marden has taken the name of Marden's brook. 

Mount Prospect. — The high mountain knob lying directly south 
of the village was named Mt. Prospect at a very early date on 
account of the extended view to be had from its summit of the entire 
surrounding country. 

Mount Willard and Willard's Basin. — Mt. Willard is the round 




(iKKAT Rock and Schoolhouse. 




Grange Villa(;e a \ 



LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AND CEMETERIES. 319 

mountain in Kilkenny. Willard's Basin is the large tract of com- 
paratively level land lying to the west of Mt. Willard. These were 
named for Jonathan Willard who came from Charlestown, N. H. 
He was a relative of Governor Hubbard and Hon. Enos Stevens, 
and also grandfather of Mrs. Soloman Hemenway. For some rea- 
son Willard abandoned his family and friends, and about the time 
Page, Stockwell, and Bucknam came to Lancaster he appeared. He 
was an eccentric character, and lived for many years in entire soli- 
tude in the forests, with no other company than his dog Pilot. Once 
in a while he would visit Captain Stockwell, and after remaining a 
few days return to his solitary retreat in the dense forest. After 
many years when he had become quite infirm his son came and took 
him back to Charlestown. 

Egy^t. — The extensive meadows, known as the " Brooks' Mead- 
ows," on the Connecticut river, now owned by Frank Smith & Com- 
pany, obtained the name of Egypt during the cold seasons prior to 
18 17, when they were the only lands in Lancaster on which corn 
would ripen, and " going to Egypt for corn " became a common 
expression. It is handed down by tradition as a fact that Col. Syl- 
vanus Chessman, who owned the land at that time, was accustomed 
to build fires around his cornfields to w^ard off the frost and thus 
save his corn crop from utter loss. These lands once belonged to 
Jeremiah Wilcox, an early settler who left town about 1800, after 
which the lands were owned by Ezra Brooks who occupied the 
Wilcox house which stood on the west side of the Dalton road, a 
short distance north of where Jason H. Woodward now lives. 

Paris. — The farm next above Wilcox's on the river was called 
Paris from the circumstance that Colonel Chessman made plaster of 
Paris there which he used as a fertilizer on his lands. This material 
is otherwise known as gypsum, or land plaster. 

THE STREETS AND PARKS. — NAMES OF STREETS, WHEN AND HOW 
NAMED. — CENTENNIAL PARK. — SOLDIERS' PARK. 

Lancaster is noted for its broad, clean, and shady streets. Among 
the earliest settlers in the village there was an inherent love of trees, 
and the Lancaster of to-day is full of that most exquisite beauty that 
only trees can impart. The older streets, Main, North Main, Mid- 
dle and Elm streets, are lined with gigantic elms that almost arch 
the streets. There was an old elm standing in the middle of Main 
street nearly opposite Centennial park that was too sacred to cut 
downi. It stood there defying the storms and pleasing the eyes of 
the people of Lancaster until Jan. 10, 1849, when it was blown 
down. There is an elm tree in front of Mary Young's house on 
Main street, planted by Titus O. Brown, 1795. Judge Everett at 



320 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

a very early date planted a row of Lombardy poplars from the court- 
house down past where the Lancaster House now stands, but they 
have long since perished while the stately elms continue to hold up 
their heads full of life and beauty. 

Lancaster has always been justly proud of its streets ; and for 
some few years past an interest has been deepening in the feeling 
and thought of the people for parks. Lancaster is now blessed with 
two handsome parks that promise much beauty and comfort for the 
years to come. 

STREETS. 

As the first settlers of Lancaster were farmers somewhat scattered 
over its territory the original streets were at first but portions of the 
roads leading from one section to another of the town in which the 
scattered families lived. After a time the village began to grow 
along the upper end of what is now Main street, and a little later 
the business places followed the mills toward Isreals river, and upon 
the erection of a passable bridge over that stream they arose on the 
road to Whitefield, and south toward the Bucknam settlement. 
In process of time, neither history nor tradition tell us just when, 
the road from the Stockwell and Page settlement to the Isreals 
river bridge and beyond to the forks of the roads leading to White- 
field and down the river took the name of Main street, while the 
one down the river toward the Bucknam settlement got the name of 
Elm street. So with several others, names came but by no definite 
legal process as at present in vogue. 

As long as the village was small, and all business clustered on a 
few streets, and everybody knew where everybody else lived, and no 
other demands existed for the definite naming of streets they went 
either unnamed or by such names as those living on them saw fit to 
give them. 

In 1862, after some discussion of the matter, a popular meeting 
was called for the purpose of naming the streets of Lancaster village. 
The meeting assembled in town hall on a Friday evening, September, 
1862. The gathering was duly organized by the election of ex-Gov. 
J. W. Williams as chairman, and Henry O. Kent as secretary. On 
motion a committee of one or more from each street and place w^as 
selected to report names to be applied to the streets. The commit- 
tee reported and its report was adopted by the meeting. The 
names they gave the streets and places were as follows : 

Main Street. — From Horace F. Holton's house to the town hall. 
Laid out 1796. 

Ehn Sti'eet. — From the American House (south end of Main 
street) to W. G. Wentworth's (old Parson Willard place). Laid out 
1795- 



LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AND CEMETERIES. 32 1 

Middle Street. — From Main street near the north end of the 
lower bridge, east to village limits. Laid out 1792. 

Mechanic Street. — From town hall across the upper bridge to 
Middle. Laid out 1852. 

Prospect Street. — From south end of Main street and past 
houses of Wm. Boswell and VV. L. Rowell (as then occupied) to 
village limits on Whitefield road. Laid out 1795. 

Cottage Street. — From Prospect street past J. L Williams's and 
W. A. Folsom's (now Underwood and Whipple). Laid out at an 
early date, but recognized by the selectmen 1864. 

Portland Street. — From Prospect street up the Meeting-house 
hill and toward Jefferson Mills. Laid out 1796. 

Pleasant Street. — From Portland street on the common eastward 
past the house of T. S. Underwood (now Heywood, Eaton, et als.). 
Laid out i860. Extended to Mechanic street 1866. 

High Street. — From Main and past the houses of Nelson Kent 
and Frank Smith. Laid out 1853. 

Suimner Street. — From Middle street to High street. Laid out 
1855, and extended from High street to North street 1859. 

North Street. — From the head of Main street at the Holton 
place toward Northumberland. Laid out 1796 with Main street. 
(Changed 1891 to North Main street.) 

Bridge Street. — From the north end of Main street toward the 
Toll bridge on the Connecticut river. Laid out 1855, before that a 
private way since 1804. 

3fill Street. — From Main street at the south end of lower bridge, 
easterly along the river, past H. Adams's shop. Now occupied by 
F. Smith & Co.'s mills, and vacated by common consent as a private 
way. 

Water Street. — From Elm street down Isreals river past the old 
starch mill, now Richardson's furniture factory. Laid out 1848. 

Lancaster Place. — The square between the Lancaster House 
and the buildings south. Laid out 1879. 

Kent Place. — The passageway and square north and in the rear 
of R. P. Kent & Son's store. A private way. 

Church Street. The place south and in rear of the Methodist 
church. A private way. 

Those were all the streets then existing. At the meeting above 
referred to, it was voted on motion that the clerk enter these names 
in a book for future reference. A motion also prev^ailed by which 
"H.O.Kent, A. J. Marshall, and Edmund Brown were made a 
committee to prepare suitable signs with the names of the streets 
thereon and affix them at the intersection of the streets and places, 
and that the expense of such signs be defrayed by the people living 
on the streets or places where they are affixed." The proceedings 



322 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

of that meeting were published in the Coos Republican by vote of 
the meeting. 

Since that time streets have been laid out by authority, and named 
as follows : 

Park Street. — From Prospect street to Portland street on the 
south side of the old Mdeting-House common. Laid out and named 
in 1861. 

Canal Street. — From Main street near north end of lower bridge 
to the Thompson Manufacturing Co.'s shops. Laid out and named 
in 1867. 

Williams Street. — From Elm street to Prospect street. Laid 
out 1867, and named after ex-Gov. J. W. Williams. 

Williams Place. — The square between the Williams House and 
the Roby cottage. Now a private way. 

Winter Street — From Elm street on top of Baker hill to inter- 
sect Water street. Laid out and named in 1869. 

Railroad Street. — From Main street to Summer street exten- 
sion. Laid out and named in 1870. 

Cemetery Street. — From the B. & M. railroad near the depot to 
Summer street. Laid out and named in 1875. 

Hill Street. — From Middle street north to intersect Bunker Hill 
street extension. Laid out in part 1875, and extended 1895. 

Walcott Street. — From Summer street to the passage way west 
of the B. & M. railroad sheds. Laid out and named in 1876 for 
Dr. Walcott. 

Wallace Street. — From B. & M. depot northerly to Kilkenny 
street. Laid out and named in 1877. 

Banker Mill Street. — From Main street east. Was widened 
and named in 1877, ^^^ extended in 1889. 

Spring Street. — From Elm street to Water street. Laid out 
and named in 1880, but was known as Hanson street, named after 
the Hanson place nearly opposite it, formerly the "Parson Willard 
house," and also Arsenal street, as the old arsenal stood on the 
southwest corner of that and Elm street. 

Kilkenny Street. — From North Main street to Wallace street. 
Laid out and named in 1882. 

Causeway Street. — From Summer street, easterly. Limit in- 
definite. Laid out and named in 1889. 

Burnside Street. — From Elm street to Prospect street. Laid 
out and named in 1891 for D. A. Burnside. 

Fletcher Street. — From Middle street to Bunker Hill street. 
Laid out and named in 1894. 

CENTENNIAL PARK. 
On July 14, 1864, at the close of the centennial celebration of 



LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AND CEMETERIES. 323 

the settlement of Lancaster several liberal persons, former residents 
of the town, subscribed a considerable sum of money to buy the 
lands upon which some of those exercises took place as a public 
park or common to commemorate the event. The persons sub- 
scribing were : 

Edward D. Holton, Milwaukee, Wis., $50; Samuel White, $^q • 
Gen. R. M. Richardson, Portland, Me., $25; Seth Greenleaf, $25;' 
Charles O. Baker, Portland, Me., $10; L. F. Moore, $50; C B 
Allen, $10; J B. Brown, Portland, Me., $50; James H. White," 
Chicago, 111.. $25; John E. White, Chicago, 111., $25 ; L C Por- 
ter, St. Johnsbury, Vt., $10; C. W. Baker, St. Johnsbury, Vt , $c • 
Ossian Ray, $25 ; James Holton, Bangor, Me., $25. 

These donations were made on the expressed condition that the 
town should increase the amount sufficiently to purchase the plot 
from Samuel Twombly. 

u,^\\,fu''''''^ !?'? meeting held November 8, 1864, it was voted 
^ that VVilham D. Weeks be a committee of the town to complete 
the purchase of the land, and take a deed of it for the town '' It 
was also "voted to instruct the selectmen to procure the necessary 
amount of money upon the credit of the town to carry out the vote 
of the town upon the adoption of the fourth article of the warrant " 
■ t\ . meeting it was voted to designate the plot as "Centennial 
Park, which name occurs in the deed, and in subsequent records of 
the town. At the annual town meeting, March 13, 1866 the 
selectmen were instructed, by vote, to sell or exchange certain por- 
tions of the land so as to improve the shape and size of the park 
An exchange was made with the Orthodox Congregational society," 
much to the advantage of the park grounds. 

At that same meeting it was voted to instruct the selectmen " to 
lay out and ornament Centennial Park by fencing, grading and set- 
ting out trees." Samuel H. LeGro. James W. Weeks, and Charles 
B. Allen were the selectmen. They appointed Henry O Kent to 
superintend the work of laying out and grading the grounds, and 
planting trees. There were one hundred and nine trees set out at 
the first planting. Many of these trees were quite large and valuable 
Some of them were presented to the town by gentlemen not at that 
time residents of Lancaster. 

In 1867, the selectmen were petitioned to lay out a street around 
the park ; but did not see fit to grant the petition, upon which 
retusal the county commissioners were appealed to. They viewed 
the premises, and granted a road or street. This street reduces the 
size of the grounds, leaving no room outside it for decorative pur- 
poses, and makes the lot seem smaller than it really is The street 
however, was the least of the troubles, as boys and young men soon 
proceeded to pull up, girdle, and otherwise destroy trees because 



324 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

they interfered with ball games on the grounds. The town author- 
ities took no steps to put a stop to these desecrations, and the 
work of destruction went on until the effects of improvements were 
almost lost. But little interest was taken in this park for many- 
years, until it was fast becoming an eyesore and disgrace to the vil- 
lage, when the question of trying to redeem and put it in decent 
condition again was agitated by several persons to the extent of 
getting it brought before the attention of the selectmen, and secur- 
ing their action in the matter of improvements in the summer and 
fall of 1895. They graded down the land and seeded it; and in 
the spring of 1896, through the efforts of Miss Mary N. Brackett, 
money enough was raised to purchase twenty trees, and forty others 
were contributed by various individuals, one of which was given by 
the Eastern Star, and seven by Mr. John Costello who superintended 
the setting. The children of the various rooms in the public school 
having contributed money were allowed to plant trees as their own. 
The grounds having been laid out by the selectmen and places 
designated for setting the trees, the schools were allowed a half hol- 
iday, April 24, to be observed as Arbor Day. They entered into 
the spirit of the occasion, and each department of the school set 
their own trees with songs and recitations. 

The park now is in a fair way to become a place of beauty during 
the next few decades ; and public sentiment and taste for things 
beautiful will protect it against abuses. A suitable playground has 
been purchased in the rear of the high school building by the town. 

soldiers' park. 

After the old meeting-house was moved down the sand hill in 
1845, the lot upon which it had stood so many years became known 
as Meeting-House common. For some years no care was taken of the 
common, and sand was carted away as people felt inclined to do so, 
by which it became uneven and unsightly. About 1884 steps were 
taken to put it into better shape as a public park ; and soon 
after, by common consent, the care of it was left to E. E. Cross 
post of the G. A. R., and it has since gone by the name of Soldiers' 
Park in consequence of their planting memorial trees dedicated to 
the memory of soldiers from Lancaster who fell on the battle- 
fields or have died since the war. The trees now growing there 
were all set out and dedicated with appropriate services, and marked 
with the names of those for whom they were intended as memorials. 

The care of the park was committed into the hands of a commit- 
tee consisting of Henry O. Kent, Jared I. Williams, and Parker 
J. Noyes, past commanders, by the G. A. R. post. Under their 
care.it has become one of the most attractive spots in the village, 




Soldi KRs' Park. 

Former Site Old Meeting-house. 




Centennial Park and High School Blulding. 



LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AND CEMETERIES. 325 

and every year adds to its beauty. William L. Rowell and S. H. 
LeGro are entitled to the credit of arousing interest in this land, and 
preserving it as a delightful park where it is hoped some day a sol- 
diers' monument will be erected. 

This park is doubly dear to the people of Lancaster. For many 
years the old meeting-house drew to that hill all the people for 
worship in times of peace, and for counsel in times of war, or on 
occasions that demanded their deliberations on matters of state. 
At several times efforts have been made to locate the Lancaster 
academy, or public school buildings, on it; but such movements 
have always been voted down by decisive majorities. 

The following are the names of those soldiers for whom trees have 
been planted : 

Col. Edward E. Cross, Edward B. Wilder, James S. Lucas, Cyrus 
Savage, Simon Connary, John G. Lewis, Wm. H. Allen, Freedom 
M. Rhodes, John W. Bucknam, Barnard Sweeney, Wm. H. Heath, 
Francis Heywood, Fred A. Wentworth, Joseph Hart, David LeGro, 
Alden Lewis, John G. Lewis, 2d, Horatio O. Lewis, Thomas P. 
Moody, W. M. Gushing, Albion E. Evans. 

THE OLD CEMETERY. 

It does not appear that any definite place of interment was set 
apart in Lancaster until in the spring of 1779, when at a town meet- 
ing held Feb. 12, it was voted " that Maj. Jonas Wilder, Edwards 
Bucknam, Lieut. David Page, Lieut. Emmons Stockwell, Mr. Moses 
Page, and Mr. Dennis Stanley, be a committee to pitch a burying 
field in some convenient place, in said town as soon as may be." 

It does not appear upon the records that this committee ever 
made a report. The next action on the part of the town, so far as 
the records show, was in 1799, when in making the warrant for the 
annual town meeting article 9th read : " To see if the town will pur- 
chase any lands easterly of the Meeting-House common for the 
purpose of a burying ground instead of the ground now made use of 
for that purpose." 

At the meeting which occurred March 12, it was voted " that the 
selectmen lay out the grounds now occupied for a burying ground, 
which was voted by the proprietors for the use of the town." That 
evidently had reference to the old cemetery on the mound as it 
exists to-day. 

At the annual town meeting of March 12, 1800, it was " Voted to 
raise forty dollars to be laid out on the burying ground in labor in 
the month of June next by order of a committee, at the same rates 
an hour that the highway money is to be worked out, and if the 
work is not done when called for, the money of each delinquent is 
to be collected." 



326 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

"Voted Titus O. Brown, Jonathan Cram, Joseph Hinman, a com- 
mittee to superintend the clearing of the burying ground." 

This committee took a deed of the land from Humphrey Cram in 
the name of the town, making the old cemetery the rightful property of 
the town ; and in it have been gathered to their final rest nearly all the 
prominent men and women connected with the pioneer enterprises 
of Lancaster. The deed of the cemetery was put on record in 1806, 
and with many other valuable records was burnt in the court-house 
fire in 1886. After the loss of the county records an authentic plan 
or map of the cemetery, as designated by that deed, was put on 
record about 1890, and calls for more land on the east side of the 
plot than is now within the fence surrounding it. 

For nearly fifty years we do not meet with the old cemetery on 
the records of the town as receiving any attention at town meetings, 
from which it is to be inferred that it had become the recognized 
and satisfactory place of interment. About 1854, it had become ap- 
parent that it was soon to become small, if not too small, for the needs 
of the town. In that year the selectmen were instructed at the annual 
town meeting to have the grounds surveyed and fenced. It is to be 
inferred from a subsequent action of the town that the selectmen dis- 
charged their duty in the premises. In 1856, the selectmen were 
instructed " To fence and lay out the burying ground, and move the 
fence back on to the line of the lands deeded by Humphrey Cram." 
James W. Weeks was appointed to lay out the grounds and make 
such improvements as might be practicable. He did not move the 
fence as it was ordered. He laid out the grounds with as much 
system as previous interments would permit, and even caused some 
removals in order to make new lots, and built the avenues around 
the hill as they now are. He also set out the pine trees that now 
adorn it, and tried some experiments in terracing with witch grass, 
which have been reasonably successful. There appears to have 
been no marking out of lots, or fixing bounds to individual rights 
prior to the laying out of the grounds by James W. Weeks in 1856. 
Some families had encroached upon others, so that many removals 
have been made to the new cemetery on Summer street. 

There is a tradition that either the original proprietors or Major 
Wilder had given this sand mound to the town for a cemetery at a 
very early date ; but just how that may have been we are unable to 
ascertain. By some means the meadow and house lots, twenty- 
nine, fell into the possession of Humphrey Cram who held and 
had them recorded with no reservation. The records do not show 
that Humphrey Cram received any consideration for the land when 
he gave the town a quitclaim deed for it. The reasonable inference 
is that he recognized the rightfulness of the town's claim upon it 
and surrendered it. 




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Summek-Stkeet Cemeteky. 



LOCALITIES, STREETS, PARKS, AND CEMETERIES. 32/ 

The mound was originally covered by a dense growth of pines, 
the stumps of which were utilized in fencing it in 1800. The 
stumps were dug out and rolled down to the foot of the hill to form 
the fence. On the back end and side of the ground, a heavy stone 
wall — along Main Street from the entrance to the Gem House, now 
the site of the Unitarian church, existed from a very early date. 
When a better fence was erected in 1856, it became necessary to 
remove many of those old stumps which were still sound. 

In the early days burials were made at various places throughout 
the town. In school district No. 2, there were several graves a 
short distance south of the house of Sylvanus Chessman on the 
Bucknam farm. There Gen. Edwards Bucknam was buried. There 
were also burials near the Marden brook on the LeGro farm on the 
Jefferson road and elsewhere. 

Human bones were found many years ago on the James Rose- 
brook farm in school district No. 6, now owned by Cass and Hart- 
ford. Just who was interred there, and when, there is not even a 
tradition. When the smallpox prevailed in Lancaster in 181 1, 
several of those who died were buried on the farm now owned by 
James W. Weeks and son. Among that unfortunate number was 
Jonathan Cram. 

THE SUMMER STREET CEMETERY. 

In 1868 it had become evident that the old cemetery was inade- 
quate to the requirements of the town, and steps were taken to 
secure lands and lay out a new one. There was no chance of 
enlarging the original one on account of the character of the lands 
adjoining it. So at the annual town meeting of that year the ques- 
tion was discussed, and a committee, consisting of William D.Weeks, 
Richard P. Kent, and Benjamin F. Hunking, was appointed, and 
given authority to receive proposals and report at the November 
meeting of that year. This committee reported in favor of a plot of 
land on the Holton farm on the bank of the Connecticut river just 
south of the mouth of Indian brook. The report was recommitted. 
The selectmen were instructed to appoint a committee of five to 
examine into the matter of locating a cemetery. Their committee 
consisted of Henry O. Kent, Benjamin F. Whidden, William F. 
Smith, and Emmons D. Stockwell. 

A special meeting was called September 18, at which that com- 
mittee reported in favor of the lands now occupied by the new cem- 
etery on Summer street. The report was unanimously adopted, and 
a committee of three appointed to take a deed of it in the name of 
the town, lay out, fence, and prepare it for use. The selectmen, 
Samuel H. LeGro, James W. Weeks, and Charles B. Allen, appointed 
as that committee Benjamin F. Whidden, Henry O. Kent, and Kim- 



328 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ball B. Fletcher. They qualified and went to work to carry out 
their instructions. Mr. Fletcher soon resigned from the committee, 
but the other two members went on with the arduous task com- 
mitted to their hands, and for twelve years, without compensation, 
worked to bring the cemetery into the condition it now is. At the 
annual meeting, March 8, i88i, this committee made its final report 
and resigned a well-executed work into the care of other hands. 

The selectmen appointed W. E. Bullard, Geo. N. Kent, and Jared 
I. Williams trustees to succeed the former committee in 1882. The 
trustees have added more land on the street, or entrance from Sum- 
mer street, by which it is much improved. In 1885 the selectmen 
appointed Charles A. Howe and Charles E. Mclntire trustees. 

There are many fine and costly monuments in this cemetery, and 
every year adds to its artistic and tasteful development. 

Here many men and women prominent in the middle and later 
periods of the town's history have found their last resting-place, and 
hither turn the minds and hearts of the living in fond recollection 
of those near and dear to them, and conspicuous in the affairs of the 
town, state, and nation. 

CATHOLIC CEMETERIES. 

In the year 1869 lands were purchased on Spring street for a 
Catholic cemetery by the Rev. Fr. Noisseaux, and laid out and 
blessed by him the same year. This cemetery having become too 
small to much longer accommodate the wants of that large church, 
the Rev. Fr. Creamer, in 1895, bought land on North Main street 
for a new cemetery, which has been laid out and consecrated — 
a spacious and beautiful spot. 

ANOTHER TOWN CEMETERY. 

There is a cemetery in the southwestern part of the town, in old 
school district No. 10, not far from Clark's Mills, which has its 
sexton annually elected and which is the spot of many interments. 



CHAPTER III. 
MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 

Early Statistics — Prices — Old Houses — Business Directories of the 
Town in 1828, 1856, and 1875, ^s Kept by the Late R. P. Kent 
IN HIS Diary — Business Directory in 1896. 

The first census of the town was taken by Capt. Edwards Buck- 
nam on September 22, 1775, and undoubtedly was by order of his 



MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 329 

military superiors for the purpose of determining the available men 
for the army of the Revolution. I give it in his own words : 

" No of all souls in Lancaster, Sept. 22, 1775 • 
Males under 16 years, 17. Males from 16 to 50, not in the army, 15. Males 
above 50, gone in the army, 2. Females, 27. Negroes and slaves for life, none. 
Total, 61. Eight guns iit for use. Seven guns wanted, and 11 pounds powder. 
E. Bucknam, Selectman." 

This census shows the growth of the town during the first eleven 
years. In eight years from that time the selectmen, Edwards Buck- 
nam, Jonas Wilder, and Emmons Stockwell, took another census 
which showed a white population of only 64. There were then 
eight framed dwelling-houses, two of which — the Holton house and 
the L of the old Stockwell house — are still standing. There were 
of barns and other buildings, five. The number of acres of land 
was 23,040. 

In 1790 the population had increased to 161, although there were 
only ten houses in town in 1798. In 1799 there were 91 voters. 
This was largely due to migrations of young men, the names of 
many of which attract attention in the various records of the times. 

In 1800 the population had run up to 440. The increase of 
houses did not keep pace with this growth, for there were only fif- 
teen houses in the village in 1804. This, of course, was due to 
the fact that at that time the town was strictly an agricultural com- 
munity. There was but little inducement to develop a village when 
every one was busy clearing land and cultivating it. At this time, 
however, a new era dawned upon the town, and the tide of life set 
toward the village more than ever before. In 1803 the "Upper 
Coos Country " was made into the county of Coos, with Lancaster 
as a shire town, the act to take effect January i, 1805. Here the 
courts were to sit in the future. There was now a rapid growth of 
population, so that at the end of 18 10 there were in town as many 
as 717 people. Many new industries had sprung up during those 
years of rapid growth. The War of 181 2 drew a large number of 
men away from town — about 50. This had the effect to retard the 
growth of population and industries for some years. In 1820 the 
population was only 644. There were then four stores, three phy- 
sicians, three lawyers, five justices of the peace, one minister, eight 
school districts, with four schoolhouses, two hotels, two gristmills 
and two sawmills, and two carding-mills, where cloth was fulled and 
dressed. 

During the next ten years, from 1820 to 1830, the population 
grew rapidly again, so that at the latter date it reached i',i87. 

Since then the growth has been normal and steady. In 1840 the 
population was 1,360; in 1850 it had reached 1,559; and in i860 
there were living in town 2,020 souls. The Civil War made a 



330 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

heavy drain upon the town. It sent many men into the service, but 
by 1870 the population had risen to 2,248. The census of 1880 
shows a population of 2,721. During the last fifteen years the pop- 
ulation has nearly doubled, due to rapid immigration and railroad 
construction. The census of 1890 gives the population as 3,373. 

PRICES. 

I have been able to learn the prices paid for many articles of bar- 
ter and commerce during the early years of the town, and think it 
of interest to the present and future generations to give them as 
showing that pioneer life subsisted on things that came high. 

Gen. Edwards Bucknam kept some articles for barter, and from 
his papers still in existence I glean some prices as follows : 

" 1774, Calico, $1.00, per yard. 1779, i Pr. Leather Breeches, $7.50. i Doz. 
Buttons, 3 shillings, {.75 cts). i Beaver hat, $10.50, or 7 bushels of wheat. 
1781, Leather for a Pr. of Breeches, $4.50. 1897, i Pr. Spectacles sold to Capt. 
John Weeks, .30 cts." 

These prices were in the silver currency of Great Britain and the 
United States, both of which were in circulation here at that time. 

From the ledger of Stephen Wilson, who kept a store in the old 
Wilson Tavern at the north end of Main street from 1799 to 1803, 
I take the following prices, comprising his charges to customers, 
and credits given to them for commodities taken in exchange for 
goods : 

" 1799. Salt, $3.60, bu. ; cow, $14 ; India Cloth, 62 1-2 cts. yd. ; Serge $3.50 
yd. ; Forest Cloth $2.59 yd. ; Shawl $1.25 ; Calico 62 1-2 cts. yd. ; Silk Handker- 
chief $1 .67 ; Needles 12 cts. doz.; Baize 35 cts. yd.; Breeches cloth $1.50 yd.; 
Raisins 20 cts. lb. ; Pearlash 83 cts. lb.; Ashes 12 1-2 cts. bu.; Onions $1. ; Hay 
$6, pr Ton. 

" 1800. Pigeons 12 1-2 cts. doz. ; Flax seed 83 cts. bu. ; Turnips 25 cts. bu. ; 
Malt $1 .33, bu. ; Apples 14 cts. bu. ; Pumpkins 2 cts. apiece ; Beef 5 i -2 cts. lb. ; 
Turkeys 53 1-2 cts, each; Ribbon 12 1-2 cts. yd.; Fish 7 cts. lb. ; Cambric $2.12 
1-2 yd.; Nails .66 cts. per 100; Gloves 50 cts. per Pr. ; Rum $2. gal.; Calico 
57 cts. yd. ; Potatoes 33 1-3 bu. ; Corn 66 2-3 bu. ; Oats 25 cts. bu. ; Pork 6 2-3 
cts. lb.; Spirits Turpentine 18 cts. pt.; Spanish Brown 85 cts. lb. ; Sole Leather 
30 cts. lb.; Calico 84 cts. yd. ; Coftee 50 cts. lb. ; i qt. Pitcher 59 cts. ; i Pt. 
Tumbler 20 cts.; Putty 14 cts. lb.; Brandy 25 cts. Pt. ; Beans 50 cts. bu. ; 5 
Knives and forks $1 ; Molasses $1.16 2-3 gal. ; Wine 50 cts. Pt. ; Wheat $1 bu. ; 
Butter 33 cts. lb. ; 6 Plates .67 cts. ; Glauber salts 33 cts. lb, ; Cotton wool 50 
cts. lb. ; Ginsing 20 cts. lb. : Flannel 75 cts. yd.; Cheese 9 cts. lb. ; Flax 25 cts. 
lb. ; Tea 65 cts. lb. ; Tobacco (leaf) 20 cts. lb. ; Tallow 16 cts. lb. ; Rice 7 1-2 
cts. lb. ; Lemons $1.25 doz. 

" 1 80 1. Cabbage 4 cts. per head; Butter 12 1-2 cts. lb. ; Axes 67 cts. ; Calico 
83 cts. yd.; Turkey $1.30 ; Wood 75 cts. cord; Wages 60 cts. per day ; Veal 
9 cts. lb. ; Oxen $25 a head; Barley $1 bu. ; Cotton Cambric $1.20 yd. ; Scythe 
$1.33; Psalm Book 62 cts. ; Jack Knife 50 cts. ; Salt $3 bu. 

" 1802. Apples $1 bu.; Baskets 50 cts. ; Mink Skin 65 cts.; Wheat $1.25 bu.; 
Maple Sugar 16 2-3 cts. lb. ; Geese Feathers 62 1-2 cts lb. ; Loaf Sugar 33 1-3 
cts. lb." 



MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 33 1 

The following prices are taken from the day-book of Asahel 

^Z%:u^v'''' %''''' '^^^ ^^°" '''''' ^^^^^ and also nan- 
aged the fuIIing-mill a portion of that time : 

GincrerSi r^ h w T u r ' ^ ^^'"''^^ ^7 cts. : Bombazette 50 cts. yd • 
'jinger »i.i2 lb. Hankerchiefs ^4 cts.- Fo-p-c ir rtc H«, . Axr •*• ,';'''••'"•' 
cts. quire; 6 qt. Pail 75 cts • Suaar ^o r . Ih r.^.. ^^ ' ^"^'"^ ^^P^' ^5 

cts a roll- Zl'u 'h,'-' '"'■' "',' '5 ""■' ^^^" Pv^^ ("'"^'i Room Paper) 7, 
c.s?lb ;'co«l'Y'am'Jc.i ?b" w'v'l' ''' ' '^"'=^' »'" '<> »'-5o; Yarn 78 

5 .-. c.. „^; f^b7«"!..:''si.eT;;f:?o?'Gei:; rc.;'r.^.'»"" '^-'^ ''■''-' 

ton Co.h So'°Ss™vd' Chim;,^f-,i """ ' "i "'■ "^ ' ladies Shoes „ ; Co.- 

Na.s ,e ..I c.s"^,b.f BH^iTpSt f^o";::- z^^- j v'i,.Tr..*.v,=d""*' *' ^'- • 

m2'Z^^.T- '''''' '°' f """]'"=^ °' y"^^' ""'" b^'te'- ^^ids, and 
hro ,r. ^ "^'" °' P™duction in manufactured commodities 

be observed" that'hl """^" j--"- '" "- -ho'-ale markets. It vi i 
De oDserved that home products were quite cheap, while all articles 

zi 7eikrz::''i:i\ ^"^ '^' '" p^^^- '° ^^ -counted fot; 

rn^h freight rates. It took a team twelve to fifteen davs to m!,Z 
oiDetter roads the same trip could be made in ten davs Fven 

he": teThis wa ""' *' ' ,'""' '° ^"^'P P-^'-'^ '° Port nd^^'d 
the rate this way was no less. After manv years prices ran down 

.830 t^oTdforT °'/" .=''"°^"°'-' '°- "' the wheat crop'; 
.a^e;^:iV:;^i!'r,'l3--;™idere^ 

de-d'in'eTr^^caVer."^^^"^ '° *^ '-' ""' ^»--'-- ^ °- 

Pri™rhon'Z'°/l^°' ' """ ""''' °'^'=''" ''°'"-d ^'"d washing, in 
privaehou.es, at $1.50 per week. At tliat time R. P Kent and 

^^Et °s? e"t ITI^' °"' ''%r' •'"'"'•"g' "- Sampsoi;"store 
in urance The h^* ' ^'f , ^''"^ ^'"''^ ='''°"' ^■° '^•^«. ^-nd no 
System of h \ '.5"' °' "'" ""^'-'^ha-'^ was done chiefly on a 

system of barter and credit. "Notes of hand due bills Lh 
orders," from a creditor upon his debtors, were a common in the 

Very mtl nZT''" '""'"=^ '" "^-'° ^^ ^ank checks are t^^day 

very nttJe money was in use in trade. ^ ' 



332 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The near approach and final coming through Lancaster of the 
railroads worked a greater change in trade than anything else in the 
history of the town. Now the conditions of commercial life are the 
same here as elsewhere. The merchant of Lancaster to-day, like 
those of all other communities, attends to his business and awaits 
the coming of the traveling representatives of the manufacturers 
and wholesale dealers with their samples to select his stock of goods, 
or uses the mails to give his orders, which are filled with dispatch. 

The prices of some farm products have declined since the rail- 
roads have brought the Lancaster farmer into competition with the 
West, while other products like hay, eggs, butter, potatoes, have 
increased, the mountain houses making an excellent market for the 
farm products of the town and region. 

SOME OLD HOUSES. 

With an abundance of the finest timber that ever grew, and the 
early erection of sawmills, the most prosperous settlers of the town 
were soon tempted to build frame houses. In 1783, within nineteen 
years of the coming of the first families to town, there were eight frame 
houses. The log cabins have been so long given up for commodi- 
ous frame structures that the town has in it to-day many very old 
houses in a good state of preservation. The first frame building 
erected in town was what is now the L to the house on the old 
Stockwell farm as elsewhere stated. Just at what date it was built is 
not exactly known, but the tradition is well accepted that it is the 
o\dcsty?-ame structure standing in Lancaster. 

T/ie old Wilde?- House, now better known as the " Holton House," 
was the first two-story house in town. Maj. Jonas Wilder was a 
man of considerable wealth, and a large family. He began this 
work on the noted "Dark Day," May 19, 1780, which has fixed 
the exact date of this old landmark. The darkness was so great 
that workmen, who were engaged in excavating for the cellar, 
were compelled to stop. Filled with terror, as they must have been, 
they possibly thought the end of time was upon them. But as 
kindly nature resumed the even order of things, work went on ; and 
on July 26, 1780, the frame was raised. Just how soon the house 
was completed we do not know. All the work was done by hand. 
The boards were planed by hand tools; the nails wrought upon the 
blacksmith's anvil. Such nails were costly at that time. In 1767 
they cost, at wholesale, 70 cents per 100. In 1801 they were sold 
for 16 2-3 cents per pound. For many years Major Wilder's house 
was used as an inn, and also as a place of holding religious meet- 
ings before the town built a meeting-house. 

The Ev€7-ett House. — In 1793 Richard Everett came to Lancaster 
to settle in the practice of law. He had already been here, but 




Emmons Stockwell House. 

Ell, 1768; Front about 1780. 




Brackett Homestead. 

Ell in 1794. 




Blacksmith Shop. 

Foot Sand Hill. 

(Stage wagon found mounted on roof.) 




HoLTON House, 1780 




Edward Spaulding Farm on Stebbins Hif.l. 

One of the First Clearings in Town. 




Sugar Party at E. S. P'reeman's. 



MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 333 

had gone to college and aftenvard studied law. Having been 
engaged to one of Major Wilder's daughters he determined to make 
Lancaster his home. He was married in 1793; and, as near as 
can be learned, built his house where is now the corner of Main 
and High streets the following year, where he lived until his death 
March 22, 181 5. 

On his return from the term of court held at Haverhill in 1803, 
at which time it was made known that there would be held in 1805 
the first term in the new county of Coos, at Lancaster, Mr. Everett 
set about the task of enlarging this house to accommodate the three 
judges who were to hold that court. He built an addition, which 
comprises the two north rooms. Tradition makes these rooms' 
the lodging-place of many notable judges and lawyers, among whom 
were Daniel Webster, Levi Woodbury, Ichabod Bartlett, and Josiah 
Bell. 

The Rosebrook House. — The old square, flat-roofed house on 
North Main street, owned by John S. Ingerson, was probably the 
second, and not later than third, two-story frame house built in town. 
It was built by Charles Rosebrook; but at just what date cannot 
now be learned with any degree of certainty. Among the other 
very old houses are the Joyslin house on Middle street, where Dr. 
Frank Spooner lived ; the Baker house, on Elm street; the ell of the 
Brackett house, on the South Lancaster road ; the Weeks house, 
on Mt. Prospect farm ; the Hunnex house on North Main street. 
All these are very old ; and beside them there are many others 
nearly as old. 

Richard P. Kenfs Statistics, and Directories of Lancaster . — 
The late Richard P. Kent, who was a very methodical man in all 
matters, has left us in his diaries, and personal memoranda, several 
very complete directories of the business concerns of the town from 
1825, when he came to Lancaster, down to nearly the time of his 
death. From these we are able to show the condition of business 
enterprises at various intervals, from which the reader may easily 
draw comparisons between the Lancaster of from sixty to twenty 
years ago and to-day. We give these statistics and directories in 
his own language, as copied from his diaries. 

STATISTICS AND DIRECTORY OF THE VILLAGE IN 1828. 

Lancaster Academy organized. 

Taverns. — Wilson's, at north end of Main street, stage tavern, 
Francis Wilson, proprietor ; Wilder's tavern (Holton House); Coos 
Hotel, Ephraim Cross, proprietor; American House. 

Stores. — Guy & William Cargill, at North End, R. P. Kent & Co., 
at South End. 

Post-office. — Kept by S. A. Pearson, in his law ofhce (in the old 
building known as the Fletcher house, on Main street). 



334 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Mills. — Two grist-mills, Wesson Mill and Stockwell Mill; two 
sawmills adjoining the grist-mills, as above. 

Clothing Works. — John S. Haines had a cloth-mill at the lower 
dam, and A. Going, one on Canal street (where N. H. Richard- 
son's shop stands). 

Tannery. — Burnside's (on Elm street, where the creamery now 
stands). 

Furniture Factory. — Francis Bingham (on Elm street, west 
of where the Burnside House now stands). 

Tailor. — George W. Perkins. 

Blacksmiths. — Harvey Adams, Warren Porter. 

Dwelling Houses. — The Going house, standing at foot of Baker 
Hill. Later was moved by Stephen Hadley to the corner of Main 
and North Main streets, and occupied by Stephen Wilson. It is 
now known as the " Lindsey house." 

The Rosebrook and Hunnex houses on North Main street. 

Pearson's house, in which his law of^ce and the post-ofifice were 
kept. 

The Boardman house, on Main street, just across the Boston & 
Maine Railroad, and now occupied by Ethan Crawford. This house 
was built by Benjamin Boardman, who kept a store at one time in 
the northeast corner room. 

The Deacon Farrar house, now the priest's house at the Catholic 
church (1859). 

The Everett house, better known as the " Cross house " (on the 
corner of Main and High streets). 

A one-story house on Main street (opposite Lancaster House), 
burnt in 1840. (Turner Stephenson's.) 

Dr. Stickney's house. 

Reuben Stephenson's house, on corner of Main and Middle streets 
(now next east of Cross house on High street.) 

The mill house, belonging to the Stockwell Mills, on Middle street, 
near where William Clough's dwelling-house stands, and occupied 
by David Greenleaf, the miller. 

The old mill house, corner of Middle and Main streets, near 
where the Lancaster National Bank building stands. 

The old "Wesson House" (on Middle street). Maine Central 
tracks run through site of cellar. 

STATISTICS AND DIRECTORY OF THE VILLAGE FOR 1856. 
POPULATION OF THE VILLAGE ABOUT 7OO. 

Public Buildings. — Court-house of brick ; jail an old and poor 
building; county building for offices, on Middle street, where Frank 
Smith & Co.'s store now is; academy; three churches, — Congrega- 
tional, Unitarian, Methodist; two schoolhouses, Nos. i and 12. 




1^\'i-;rett JrloMKSTEAD (Col. Cross Place), 1844: j;lilt 1794. 




Everett Homestead (Mr.s. 1'. F. Ciiasi, ). 1899. 



MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 335 

Wheehvrights. — A. J. Marshall, large shop, with steam power, 
employs from fifteen to twenty men in the manufacture of wagons, 
buggies, sleighs, carts, bedsteads, furniture. Keeps shop for iron- 
ing, painting, and trimming carriages and sleighs. 

Harvey Adams has a large shop wath water-power (where the 
Monnahan blacksmith shop stands just above lower bridge) for the 
manufacture of carriages and sleighs. Employs about half as many 
men as Marshall. 

Saddlers and Harnessmakers. — Allen Smith and Horace Whit- 
comb. 

Watchmaker and Jeiveler. — C. B. Allen, new shop and large 
stock of goods (where Syndicate block now is.) 

Shoemakers. — Orange Smith, Vernon Smith, Heber Blanchard, 
Alfred Greenleaf, Willard Jackson. 

Foundry. — Owned and carried on by S. & W. M. Rines. Man- 
ufactures plows, cultivators, stoves, and mill-gearing. 

House Carpenters. — N. B. Wilson, Zebulon Black, William Row- 
ell, Lyman Rowell, William S. Clark, William C. Fiske, Henry Wil- 
liams, Rufus Hodgson, William Boswell, Chester Stebbins, David 
Young, Edward Melcher. 

Tailors. — Robert Sawyer, T. S. Underwood, cutter and foreman 
in employment of D. A. Burnside. 

Bricklayers and Masons. — Jacob Hamlin and Charles Baker. 

Gtins7niths. — Thomas Morse and Daniel T. Johnson. 

Dagiierrean Artist. — F. White. 

Patent Horse-rake Factory. — By Fenner M. Rhodes. 

Blacksmiths. — Warren Porter, S. R. & Geo. Willey, O. W. Bemis, 
and shops in connection with the wheelwright manufacturies. 

Gravestone Makers. — H. J. Rounds & Co. 

Printing Offices. — Bowe & Allison, publish the Coos Refublican^ 
a weekly paper. J. I. Williams publishes the Cods Democrat. 

Stores. — (Dry goods, groceries, and hardware.) R. P. Kent, 
Moore & Wentworth, R. L. Adams & Co., D. A. Burnside, In- 
crease Robinson, and Royal Joyslin. 

Book and Drug store. — Dr. John W. Barney. 

Milliners. — Mary Smith and E. A. Everett. 

Town Agent for the sale of Liquors. — Robert Sawyer. 

Groceries. — Frank Smith and Abel H. Wesson. (These were 
rather restaurants than groceries as is understood by the term to- 
day. — Ed.) 

Taverns. — The American House, kept by Frederick Fiske ; the 
Coos Hotel, kept by D. G. Smith. 

Lawyers. — Jacob Benton, Ossian Ray, William Heywood, S. W. 
Cooper, Turner Stephenson, J. W. Williams, G. C. Williams, J. I. 
Williams, George A. Cossitt, Hiram A. Fletcher. 



336 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Physicians. — Jacob E. Stickney, John W. Barney, J. D. Folsom, 
Freedom Dinsmore, Benjamin Hunking, and E. Lyman. 

Clergymen. — George M. Rice, Unitarian; Prescott Fay, Congre- 
gationalist; James Adams, Methodist. 

Bank. — The White Mountain Bank, capital $50,000; G. C. Wil- 
hams, cashier; J. B. Sumner, president. 

Grist-mill. — Owned by John Dewey, newly fitted up, and one of 
the best in the state. 

Sawmills. — One owned by S. & W. M. Rines, with upright saw; 
one by O. E. Freeman, with circular saw, in the building formerly 
occupied for cloth-dressing and carding (at the south end of the 
dam). 

Tow7i Hall. — Occupying the second story of the building used 
by Royal Joyslin for his store (being the old meeting-house). 

Odd Fellows' and, later, Masonic Hall. — In the attic over town 
hall. 

'■'■Know Nothing s Hall.'''' — A hall in the Burnside store, fur- 
nished for the Know Nothings, but now used for a variety of pur- 
poses. 

Kent''s Hall. — A small hall in the chamber of my store ; has 
been used by Sons of Temperance, Masons, brass band, singing- 
schools, and other things. 

STATISTICS OF LANCASTER, 1875. 

Churches. — Congregational, Charles E. Harrington, pastor; 
Methodist Episcopal, James Noyes, pastor; Baptist, no minister; 
Unitarian, no minister; Catholic, Isadore H. Noiseaux, priest; 
Episcopal, J. B. Goodrich, rector. 

Physicians. — Mark R. Woodbury, Frank Bugbee, Ezra Mitchell, 
Nath. H. Scott, allopathists ; Dan Lee Jones, homeopathist. 

Lawyers. — Burns & Heywood (Wm. Burns, Henry Heywood), 
Ray, Drew & Heywood (Ossian Ray, Irving W. Drew, and Wm. 
Heywood), Fletcher & Fletcher (Hiram A. Fletcher, Everett 
Fletcher), Daniel C. Pinkham, John G. Crawford, Jacob Benton, 
Benjamin F. Whidden, George A. Cossitt (not in practice), William 
S. Ladd (now a judge, and out of practice). 

Stores. — Richard P. Kent & Son (Richard P. Kent, Edward R. 
Kent), general variety store ; James A. Smith, general variety store ; 
Porter Brothers (Henry H. Porter, Horace R. Porter), general 
variety store; Rowell & Rhodes (James M. Rowell, Wm. H. 
Rhodes), general variety store; Orrin Tubbs & Son (Orrin Tubbs, 
George Tubbs), general variety store; Kent & Griswold (Nelson 
Kent, Charles L. Griswold), dry goods; Samuel G. Evans, general 
variety store ; Cleaveland & Powers (Chas. A. Cleaveland, Jonas 
Powers), groceries and crockery; Richard W. Bailey, groceries ; 



^MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 337 

Walter S. Bailey, oyster saloon ; Albion G. Evans, groceries ; 
Emmon S. Smith, nuts, fruits, and oysters; William Shannon, gro- 
ceries; David S. Smith, groceries; Charles A, Nutter, fruits, nuts, 
and oysters; Frank Smith & Co. (Frank Smith, A. M. Bullard), 
grain and flour; Erastus V. Cobleigh & Co. (Erastus V. Cobleigh, 
Richard P. Kent), stoves and castings, tinware, house furnishings, 
and tin shop; Mrs. Rhodes, millinery goods; Mrs. N. Sparks, mil- 
linery; Parker J. Noyes, drugs, medicines, books, and stationery ; 
Vernon E. Smith & Co. (Vernon E. Smith, D. C. Pinkham), boots 
and shoes ; Nathaniel G. Stickney, boots and shoes ; Thomas S. 
Underwood, merchant taillor; Edward Savage, drugs, medicines, 
books, and stationery. 

Insiirance. — Henry O. Kent, agent, Coos Mutual, and many 
stock companies. 

Coos County Savings Bank. — Henry O. Kent, treasurer. 

Jewelers. — Clrarles E. Allen, George A. Martin. 

Furniture. — N. H. Richardson. 

Hotels. — Lancaster House, B. H. Corning, proprietor; American 
House, Francis Richardson, proprietor; Dew Drop Inn, Bernice 
Stuart, proprietor. 

House Painters. — Dooley & Blair (Fred Dooley, George W. 
Blair), Edward Stuart. 

Landscape Painter. — Edward Hill. 

Carriage Factory. — A. J. Marshall, manufacturer of carriages, 
sleighs, furniture, painting, and blacksmithing. 

Iron Foundry. — Ellis & Olcott (Thos. S. Ellis, Barzillai T. 
Olcott). 

Machine Shops. — A. Thompson & Co. (Alexander Thompson, 
Charles. Bellows, Kimball B. Fletcher, Frank Twitchell). 

Harness Shops. — Horace Whitcomb & Co. (Horace Whitcomb, 
R. Baxter Whitcomb) ; Charles Howe, Enoch L. Colby & Son 
(Enoch L. Colby, Charles F. Colby). 

Sash, Blinds, and Boors. — Smith & Burns (Frank B. Smithy 
Charles E. Burns). 

Marble Shop. — Johnson C. Hunter. 

Bagucrrean Artist. — Erdix T. Wilson. 

Blacksmiths. — Riley Hosmer, Mathew Monahan, Jas. McCarten. 

Bricklayers and Plasterers. — Henry C. Forbush, Jacob Hamlin. 

Soap Boiler. — William Bonett. 

Shoemakers. — Shepard Knight, Josiah Payne. 

House Carpenters. — Peter N. Shores, William L. Rowell, David 
Young, Joseph C. Reed, Joseph L. Nutter, Edward Melcher, Hollis 
Jordan, Ephraim Smith, Charles Smith, J. A. Stebbins, David 
Goodall, Alonzo Stillings, Benjamin F. Leonard, George S. Wolcott, 
John H. Smith, Frank B. Smith. 

22 



338 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Ncws^a^ers. — Coos Republican, owned by an association; 
Tndepetident Gazette, Geo. H. Emerson, editor and proprietor. 

Tannery. — A. J. Congdon, not in operation at present. 

Lancaster Manufacturing Co. — Henry O. Kent, treasurer; 
John S. Koster, manufacturing agent ; manufactures straw and 
manila wrapping paper. 

Milk Dealers. — John H. Hopkinson, John W. Savage. 

jFile Cutters. — Moody & Cave (George Moody, George E. Cave). 

We give below a directory of the business enterprises of the town 
to-day. This shows the natural growth of more than a century and 
a quarter, of the enterprise of the town. Many business establish- 
ments have existed under conditions that have passed away, giving 
place to those born of the inevitable changes that are characteristic 
of the life of every community, and the country at large. 

DIRECTORY OF LANCASTER, 1 896. 

Merchants. — R. P. Kent & Son. Edward R. Kent, surviving 
partner; Blood & Marshall; Bailey Brothers; Kent & Roberts. 

Groceries. — J. L. Bass; Howe Brothers; Clough & Sawyer; R, 
P. Kent & Son ; Frank Smith & Co. ; W. E. Ingerson & Co. ; 
Nourse Brothers. 

Hardware. — L. F. Moore ; Frank Smith & Co. ; Kier & McCaf- 
fery. 

Drug Stores. — P. J. Noyes Manufacturing Co. ; Fred C. Colby; 
G. W. Carpenter. 

Candy and Friiit Stores. — F. S. Linscott; S. N. Evans; J. R. 
Flanders. 

Boot and Shoe Stores. — E. E. Smith & Co.; I. W. Quimby; 
Geo. V. Moulton. 

Shoetnakers. — Vernon Smith, T. Cunningham. 

Ilarnessmaker. — Charles Howe. 

'Jezvelers. — W. I. Hatch ; Whitcomb Brothers. 

Milliners. — Mrs. S. G. Evans; Cook & Stoughton ; Ella M. 
Twombley. 

Furniture Stores. — Richardson & Porter; Cummings & Co. 

Variety and Toy Stores. — C. E. Kimball; Fred C. Colby. 

Barbers. — Charles Thompson; John Mclntire ; Fred Laforce. 

Bakers. — Lancaster Bakery; Mrs. Alex. Thompson. 

Meat Markets. — Clough & Sawyer; Frank Smith & Co.; J. L. 
Bass; Chas. A. Hill. 

Banks. — Lancaster Savings Bank ; Lancaster National Bank ; 
Lancaster Trust Company ; Siwooganock Savings Bank. 

Tailors and Clothiers. — T. S. Underwood & Son ; Lane Cloth- 
ing Company; W. C. Sherburne; C. Dietrich. 



MATERIAL GROWTH OF THE TOWN. 339 

Livery Stables. — Murphy Brothers; J. E. McGraw ; G. M. 
Stickney; C. H. Gotham; Lancaster House Livery. 

Laundries. — Lancaster Steam Laundry; Leon Wah, Chinese 
Laundry. 

Bicycles.— \i. N. Beach; W. L. Rowell.Jr. ; A. F. Rowell ; R. P. 
Kent & Son. 

Lllectric Light Plant. — Lancaster Electric Light Company. 

Telephone and Telegraph. — New England Telegraph and Tele- 
phone Company ; Western Union Telegraph Company. 

Laivyers. — L W. Drew; C. B. Jordan; W. P. Buckley (firm of 
Drew, Jordan & Buckley) ; Fletcher Ladd ; Everett Fletcher (firm 
of Ladd & Fletcher) ; W. H. Shurtleff ; Edmund Sullivan (firm of 
Shurtleff & Sullivan); Crawford D. Henning; Merrill Shurtleff; 
Jared L Williams; Henry O. Kent. 
-Auctioneers. — John T. Amey ; George M. Stevens. 

Physicians.— Ezx2iM\tc\\Q\\\ W. H. Leith; E. F. Stockwell ; H. 
B. Carpenter; D. L. Jones; Frank Spooner. 

Ministers. — G. H. Tilton, Congregationalist ; R. L. Danforth, 
Methodist; Joseph Fames, Episcopal; M.J. B. Creamer, Catholic; 
A. N. Somers, Unitarian. 

Civil Engineers and Surveyors. — J. L Williams; H. T. 
Osborne. 

Blacksmiths. — J. M. Millette; James McCarten ; Hosmer & 
Ryan. 

Mills and Sazumills. — Frank Smith & Co., grist-mill and sawmill ; 
James O. Stevens, grist-mill; Ethan A. Crawford, grist-mill; J. 
M. Whipple, sawmill. 

Factories. — Thompson Manufacturing Company; Richardson & 
Porter, furniture manufactory; Frank Smith & Co., doors, sash, 
and blinds; P. J. Noyes Manufacturing Co., medicines; Hosmer & 
Ryan, steel sleds ; Harry Jones, belt hooks ; Isreals River Creamery, 
manufacturers of butter. 

Marble and Granite Works. — A. G. Wilson & Co., marble works ; 
Diamond Granite Works, V. V. Whitney, proprietor. 

Insurance Agents. — Geo. M. Stevens & Son ; Nourse & Kent. 

Printing Offices and Newspapers. — The Coos County Demo- 
crat, ]. D. Bridge, editor and proprietor: The Lancaster Gazette, 
Amos F. Rowell, editor and proprietor. 

Hotels. — The Lancaster House, L. B. Whipp, proprietor; the 
Williams House, J. M. Hopkins, proprietor. 

Boarding TIo2ises. — The Village Boarding House, Mrs. J, H, 
Heaney, proprietor; the Stewart House, Mrs. Call, proprietor; 
Green's Cottage, Frank Green, proprietor. 

Painters. — A. B. Meacham, sign, ornamental, and carriage 
painter; Fred Dooley, carriage and house painter; F. E. Congdon, 



340 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

house painter and paper hanger; E. R. Stewart, house painter and 
paper hanger ; George Gould, house painter and paper hanger. 

Cari'iage Makers. — George S. Norris ; S. W. Van Ness; Frank 
Peabody. 

Contractors and Builders. — John H. Smith ; Simons & Connor ; 
E. W. Wyman. 

Bricklayers and Plasterers. — H. C. Forbush, Robert Dexter; 
Charles Couture ; Barney McGinley. 

Stone Masons. — W. C. Putnam; Peter Small; John and David 
Parks. 

Wool Carding:— ^. W. Hartford. 

Dressmakers. — Mrs. Bishop; Mrs. A. D. Warren; Miss Mc- 
KilHps. 

Photographers. — D. E. Rowell ; A.J. Rosebrook. 

Art Teachers. — Mrs. I. W. Ouimby, teacher of oil and water 
color painting; Miss Belle Whipple, teacher of art embroidery. 

Dray7nen. — Thomas Sullivan; Charles L. Sedgell ; C. H. Inger- 
son ; W.C.Sherwood; George Cummings. 

Hackmen. — Thomas Howard ; Michael Conroy; Patrick Hurley. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE DOMESTIC LIFE OF LANCASTER IN EARLY TIMES. 
By Hon. James W. Weeks. 

Few persons who have not actually passed through it, can have 
any idea of the changes which have taken place in the domestic life 
of the town within the last sixty years. 

The town of Lancaster has never been behind other towns and 
cities in New England in the matter of adopting new ideas whether 
they be for good or for ill. In some of the old and westerly towns 
of Massachusetts the old, colonial type of domestic life prevailed 
not fifty years ago, while the newer ideas had taken strong hold 
here in Lancaster. The domestic life in Lancaster remained almost 
without change for the first seventy years of its settlement. There 
were the same industries ; the large families, nearly independent of 
the outside w^orld ; the abundance of all the necessaries of life ; the 
absence of foreign business ; the same absence and almost igno- 
rance of wealth. The town was a sort of little republic, almost 
independent, and with all the elements of prosperity within its own 
limits. The tanner tanned the hides and sent finished leather to 
Boston ; the hatter sheared the lambs and made the hats for the 
people, and sent felts (shapes for hats) to market; the clothier 
carded the wool and dressed the cloth woven by the women in their 



THE DOMESTIC LIFE OF LANCASTER. 34I 

homes ; the blacksmith not only shod the horses and oxen, but 
made all manner of things composed of wrought iron except scythes 
and shovels ; the shoemaker had a place in every family sometime 
during the year when he made the shoes. Every farmer had a 
flock of sheep, and he also raised flax. Both the wool and flax 
were worked up in the homes of the people by hand methods. 
A. N. Brackett, Esq., said, in an address before the Agricultural 
society in 1822, that "At least two thirds of all the cloth used in 
Lancaster was of home manufacture." Large a,mounts of both 
woolen and linen cloths were exchanged at the stores for such 
goods as could not be manufactured in the homes of the people.* 

If the pioneers of Lancaster clung to their log cabins after the 
building of sawmills it was only for a brief period, for they had the 
choicest of timber in great abundance. f Not only in Lancaster, 
but throughout the Connecticut River valley, the house was but one 
story, but of ample proportions on the ground plan. At least one 
fourth was occupied by the kitchen, out of which opened a buttery 
and stairway. Overhead the beams were bare, from which hung 
numerous hooks. Upon these rested three or four poles, called 
clothes-poles, and all manner of things found a place upon them. 
Usually the kitchen was a large room of perhaps fifteen by twenty- 
four feet, with a door opening directly out into the weather. There 
was an immense fireplace of seven or eight feet wide and three feet 
deep. To this fireplace a hardwood log was brought, sometimes 
drawn on a hand sled. This log was between three and four feet 
long, and often twenty inches in diameter. The coals of the previ- 
ous day's backlog, as it was called, were drawn forward, and this 
new backlog rolled into place against the brick or stone back of 
the fireplace. A long-handled shovel and a pair of tongs were 
called into use by the operation of replenishing the fire in this man- 
ner. On the backlog another log, as large as would lay there, was 
placed. This one was called the back-stick. The fire dogs were 
then set up against these, and another large stick called the fore- 
stick laid upon them, and the brands and coals were filled in along 
with small wood when the fire was fixed. From that burning mass 
a glow of heat reached every corner of the room. A crane suffi- 
ciently strong to hold a five-pail kettle full of water was hung to the 
left jamb. On this was a trammel, with hooks which could be 
taken up or let down as occasion demanded, and also another hook 
on which pots and kettles were hung in cooking. A capacious 
brick oven was built on one side of the fireplace. This oven was 

* I liave before me the ledger of Gen. John Wilson, who kept a store at the north end of Main 
street for the years 1799 and 1800, in which I find inany credits to his customers who ran accounts 
for " flax, and woolen yarns, linen and woolen cloths." — Ed. 

t The selectmen took a census of the town in 1783, and report eight frame houses and five barns 
and other buildings. Three of those buildings remain standing to-day. — Ed. 



342 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

heated once a week when the family baking was done. These com- 
prised the outfit for heating and baking and cooking in the old-time 
kitchen. 

There were a dozen strong-framed kitchen chairs, with seats 
woven of elm bark or of basket stuff of some kind ; a long, move- 
able, pine table, capable of seating ten or a dozen persons, while 
turned down against the wall was a smaller table, supported by a 
brace when in use, upon which the bread was kneaded. The fam- 
ily, without distinction, except the small children who had bread 
and milk morning and night, took their meals at the long table in 
the kitchen. At the midday meal (dinner), all the children who 
were large enough to sit at the table ate their meals with their 
parents. 

A word about the cooking utensils : There was the large " dinner 
pot," in which pieces of beef or pork, with the berry or suet 
pudding, was boiled. The bean or pea porridge was made in this 
same pot. There was a broad, flat-bottomed kettle in use for frying 
doughnuts and baking pancakes, and in which potatoes were also 
boiled. Then there w^as another one known as the dish kettle. 
Next in importance was the gridiron ; and long-handled frying-pan in 
which to fry meats or griddle cakes. The " Dutch oven" held its 
place for a long time, but was finally superseded by the tin baker. 
This oven was a broad, flat-bottomed kettle, with long legs and an 
iron lid or cover with a rim turned up about an inch and a half high 
around it. This lid had a ring in the middle by which it was 
handled with tongs. In using this oven a bed of coals was drawn 
forward and the oven set in them. The bread or biscuit were placed 
in the oven, the lid was placed in position, and then a few shovels- 
ful of burning coals were placed on top of it. It baked in a man- 
ner not surpassed by any modern ovens. Potatoes were roasted, 
not baked, in the ashes, and the "Christmas goose" was roasted by 
suspending it before the fire on the kitchen hearth, being often 
basted from the dripping-pan by means of a long-handled spoon. 

In the old kitchens, when not in use for work-rooms, or for din- 
ing purposes, the boys would gather in the evening to play their 
tricks and pranks, many of which often " tended wonderfully " to 
develop their youthful muscles. If the games were not conducted 
on scientific principles they surely were not effeminate. Occasion- 
ally some boy more studious than the majority were, would throw 
himself upon his face and study his lessons in his school work, or 
read some book in which he was interested, by the light of blazing 
pine knots on the hearth. Those knots and pitchy pieces of wood 
were called " lightwood." That sort of light was far superior to 
the tallow candle of later times, or even the oil lamp that succeeded 
the tallow candle and preceded the use of kerosene oil. 



THE DOMESTIC LIFE OF LANCASTER. 343 

Adjoining the kitchen was the sanctum of the mistress of the 
house into which the noisy boys were seldom allowed to enter ; 
this was the nursery where generally slumbered an infant in an 
old-fashioned cradle. There would be found also the younger 
children. If the family did not have a girl of ten or twelve years of 
age to look after the infants, one was secured from some neighbor 
who had a surplus of such help. There in her sanctum the mistress 
of the house did her work, which consisted in making and mending 
clothes, often making over old garments until they "were just as 
good as new." Here she was preceptress of her own children, 
teaching them by conversational methods accompanied by a disci- 
pline that was as firm as it was tender. This room contained a fire- 
place, not so large as that of the kitchen, but ample for the comfort 
of the inmates. There was also a bed, turned up against the wall, 
a lot of strong wooden chairs disposed about the room, with a table 
in the centre upon which laid the sewing and other handiwork of 
the matrons of those days. There stood a lightstand upon which 
laid the family Bible and a few other books. The elder daughters 
of the family, when not engaged elsewhere, were to be found here 
with their mother assisting her with the work of the family. There 
the clock, that imposing device for measuring the flight of time, 
was to be found, and often was its face scanned by the tireless 
matron who had to plan her labors so as to bring out many occu- 
pations on schedule time. 

In the more pretentious houses there was another apartment 
similar to this room called the "square room," without carpet. 
But there came a time when carpets of home manufacture began to 
appear, accompanied by some elegant furniture. 

There was generally a small bedroom with a spare bed, out of 
the way of the noise of the kitchen, with a fireplace in it. This 
room was used only on rare occasions for company, or in case of 
sickness. The children of the family occupied the second floor as 
their sleeping apartment. The beds, except of the very poorest 
people, were of feathers. There were no mattresses those days. 
Beds were either feathers or straw. Every farmer, and nearly 
everybody was a farmer, even the minister, doctor, merchant, and 
mechanics, all cultivated some land, and therefore had their flocks 
of geese. Two or three times in a season the geese were picked ; 
the fine feathers w^ent for making beds, and the quills were saved up 
and brought a good price for making pens. Metallic pens had not 
then appeared, and whoever could write had to use the quill pen. 
There was then both a jackknife and a " penknife." Every writer 
had to learn the art of making and repairing pens with his small- 
bladed knife. These " goose-picking times " were times of excite- 
ment, and the boys were all on hand to catch the birds. The girls 



344 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

would don their oldest clothes and tie a handkerchief over their 
heads to protect their hair from the flying feathers and down. An 
old stocking was run over the heads of the geese to prevent from 
biting, and the work of taking all the available feathers pro- 
ceeded. 

Every family made its own butter, cheese, soap, and candles. 
The dipping of candles took place in the fall after the " butchering" 
season when the tallow was rendered, and candle-dipping was a day 
hardly less to be remembered than the picking of the geese. In the 
process of candle-making the little children took great delight. 
With glee they watched the dipping of the dozen or more wicks 
hung upon rods into the molten tallow in a great kettle, and sus- 
pended from slats placed upon the backs of chairs, to cool from 
repeated dippings until they were of the required size. Candles 
were later run in tin molds when but few were required. Candle 
wicking was an important article of trade at the stores. Sometimes 
in case of necessity tow was substituted for the cotton wick, but 
with poor results. 

The making of sausages was another notable day's work, looked 
forward to with interest. All hands were busily engaged cutting 
the meat with knives. The manufacture of soap was a notable 
event of the year, and took place in the early spring. The scraps 
of fatty meats, waste grease, bones, and the like were saved up from 
the winter's stock of meats and boiled out for " soap grease." 
Then, too, the accumulation of ashes from the winter fires was 
large. Leaches were set up and the lye run off. The great 
kettles were filled with lye and condensed by boiling, after which 
the requisite amount of grease was added for soft or hard soap, 
as they wished. This was an important industry in every home, and 
called for a considerable degree of skill to always get good soap. 

Every family, especially every farmer, killed and packed his own 
meat for the season. A fatted cow or ox along with several hogs 
were slaughtered. A portion was hung up to freeze, while the 
larger part was salted down for the later season of the year. 
Pork was summer meat. Very little fresh meat was eaten in 
summer except game and fish. In the warmer season when a calf, 
lamb, or sheep was killed, portions of the carcass were distributed . 
among the neighbors to be paid in the same kind and quantity a 
few days or weeks later when they should slaughter an animal. 
A well-stocked poultry yard was an important source of food sup- 
ply. The forests and streams were full of game and fish, and much 
of it was taken; but there were no "sportsmen" to destroy it as in 
later times, when game and fish were wantonly exterminated for the 
mere pleasure of killing with improved devices of destruction. 

In the fall an ample supply of all the then-known vegetables filled 



THE DOMESTIC LIFE OF LANCASTER. 345 

the cellars of the Lancaster farmers of early years. Apples of good 
quality were abundant for winter use; and eight or ten barrels of 
cider were not considered an over-stock for the winter drinks of 
family and visitors. All the women drank cider, and most of the 
men took something stronger without feeling that they were violat- 
ing any law, human or divine. Even the minister, when he called, 
was asked to "take a little Jamaica" which he never thought of 
refusing. (The ledger of J. Wilson shows that good Parson Willard 
even bought his own brandy by gallons and quarts. — Ed.) The 
ladies at quiltings and other social times would take a little toddy ; 
and it was a common practice to give it to the babies, to relieve 
them of their peculiar ills. 

Among the articles of household furnishings essential to the com- 
fort of our great-grandparents was the warming-pan. This was a 
brass or copper pan, twelve or fifteen inches in diameter and quite 
shallow with a cover perforated. It had a wooden handle three or 
four feet long. It was filled with glowing coals from the kitchen 
fire and when slid around between the sheets, gave them a thorough 
warming so that they were entirely comfortable to get into. The 
people aimed to use flannel blankets in cold weather, but often such 
were not available, when they had to resort to linen which though 
they might have been bleached until white as snow still possessed 
all the chill of the snow. Linen, being a good non-conductor of 
heat, made a pleasant garment for the hot season of the year, but a 
very cold one for winter use. Cotton either as clothing or sheeting 
was then unknown. Ludicrous mistakes were sometimes made in 
using the warming-pan. Not in Lancaster, but very near it, lived 
an old gentleman of note who w^as grievously afflicted with rheuma- 
tism. Being a captain and a sort of privileged character, he could 
swear most vehemently, possessing anything but a sweet temper. 
His devoted wife was not remarkable for shrewdness or wit, but was 
a most excellent nurse. She was told that the fumes of burning 
sugar dropped upon the warming-pan were a good remedy for rheu- 
matism. She dropped it on the lid of the pan one evening and 
warmed the bed. The sugar melted and spread out like wax. 
She turned to the old gentleman and said, "Jump right in. Captain, 
it is piping hot now." The captain crawled in, but he jumped out 
much quicker than he got into bed. The storm that raged for a 
time in that house is difficult to describe, and we leave it to the 
reader's imagination to depict the scene. It is said, however, that 
the captain got better of his rheumatism. 

When families were large, the chambers were usually roughly 
divided into rooms. We have been speaking of Lancaster as it was 
prior to 1825. There were a few houses of more than one story, 
some of which were " air castles " (the fronts roughly finished and 



346 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the family living in one corner). Most houses, however, were well 
finished and commodious. There were always some exceptions. 
There have always been rough people in Lancaster, who lived 
roughly; but in the main people lived as comfortably here as in 
other communities of like age and opportunities. We have hinted 
at the industries of the time in speaking of the manufactures of wool 
and flax. One would think that the girls and women of "ye olden 
time" had little leisure, for they not only spun the wool and flax 
and wove the cloth, but helped with milking, and always took the 
entire care of the milk, making butter and cheese. With all those 
tasks it does not appear that there existed that awful pressure, both 
physical and mental, that has been depleting our country of its 
native-born population. Our ancestors had few books, but they 
read what they had with a degree of thoroughness that is uncommon 
among the reading masses of to-day. The boys read history and 
biography, perhaps because they could not get literature like the 
New Yo7'k Ledger^ stories of adventure in the Wild West, and the 
like of which boys read to-day. The girls read "The Children of 
the Abbey" and "Scottish Chiefs," and the like. 

Girls had what they called " stints," as the spinning of a certain 
number of skeins of yarn, or the weaving of a certain number of 
yards of cloth in a day. Any smart girl could finish her "stint" 
in a half day. It did not cost more to spin, weave, and make up a 
"pressed cloth" dress then than it does now to trim and make a 
worsted dress. 

All underclothing was of home manufacture. In boy's clothing 
there was a great economy secured in its character ; the wool or 
flax when worked into cloth was of unbroken fiber, hence the 
strength of the fabric was equal to that of leather. 

Specimens of fancy needle work that have come down to us from 
our grandmothers, together with the letters they wrote, reveal a cul- 
tivated taste that equals that of to-day ; and in every respect they 
were the equals of those who grace any place in life. They fully 
adorned their station. The boys, when occasion required it, worked 
with their fathers and at the same kinds of work. There were no 
idle boys ; and the boy who could not shoot well at long range 
or catch trout, was in poor repute among either boys or men. 
One of the fixtures of the house in those times was the long gun 
hung on hooks in the kitchen with the powderhorn and bullet 
pouch hanging under it. It kept its place for a long time after 
there was any use for it. It was a formidable instrument of destruc- 
tion. The barrel was about four feet long, and it carried nearly an 
ounce ball which crushed or paralyzed whatever it struck. If this 
style of gun was charged with double B shot for ducks or geese it 
swept a space a yard and a half wide at a distance that would 



THE DOMESTIC LIFE OF LANCASTER. 347 

astonish a sportsman of to-day. Such a gun in the hands of Buck- 
nam, Blake, or Stanley was good for a moose at one hundred and 
fifty yards ; and at a much later period there were those who were 
sure of a deer at the same distance. Those old hunters usually 
charged their gun with two bullets or a double charge of shot, with 
the requisite amount of powder, and when they discharged it a tre- 
mendous report rang through the neighborhood. 

With respect to the amusements of boys, we have said the old 
kitchen was practically given up to them in the evening. There 
they played their games and tricks, and practised jokes on one an- 
other. One of their tricks was to place a pin in the rail (batton) of 
the kitchen door about ten inches from the floor. Then a boy laid 
down on his face and stomach, his feet near the pin, and tried to 
throw himself, first onto his head, then rise upon his hands and 
walk backward upon his hands and try to take the pin out of the 
door with his teeth. Some boys could perform the feat, but many 
of them would utterly fail. Another trick was making a circle with 
chalk about six feet from the floor and a foot in diameter on the 
wall. A boy would go back to the other end of the room, 
take a candle in his hand, fill a plate with water, take it by 
the rim with his teeth, walk the length of the room without 
spilling any of the water, and touch the center of the circle with the 
plate. On one occasion a number of quiet and sober boys were 
gathered in Captain Stephenson's kitchen trying this last-named trick. 
In the company was one of the neighborhood " old fellows " who 
had an exceedingly sharp-tongued, sour wife (this was before the 
days of saloons and he had to consort with the boys in the kitchen). 
So he sought social excitement among the boys. His presence was 
not welcome. So the boys got him to try their trick as a means of 
driving him out. They were using a pewter plate, and had brought 
a wad of tow as inflamable as powder, and folded it over the rim of 
the plate under pretext of avoiding marking the plate with their 
teeth. They fitted him out and sent him toward the circle. As he 
took the plate in his teeth portions of the tow were arranged so as to 
fall down upon his breast. With the candle in his hand, the plate 
filled to the rim with water, his eyes upon the circle, he took up his 
line of march, and proceeded bravely as he had a good set of teeth. 
It seemed to have become necessary to hold the candle very close 
in order to see that he did not spill any of the water. When he got 
about half way across the room, by some apparent accident the 
candle flame touched the tow and set it on fire. It flashed as quick 
as lightning. All hands fell to and assisted in putting out the fire 
which was not accomplished until his face, hands, hair, whiskers, and 
eyebrows were badly scorched. Man was made upright but " boys 
have sought out many inventions." 



348 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Ill regard to the dress of those days I ma}' say, that the com- 
mon dress of the women was simple and durable, almost entirely 
manufactured by their own hands. Flannels formed the larger por- 
tion of their dress goods, and were colored to suit the taste of the 
wearer. Their dresses were made in a manner that no woman of 
to-day need be ashamed to wear. Silks were more common 
than to-day, but they were worn only on rare or state occasions. A 
• sort of calico, called chintz, served for an afternoon dress. The bon- 
nets or hats assumed all the variety of shapes of the present day. 
The choicest of furs were in general use by the women of that time. 
Our grandmothers did not consider themselves properly dressed for 
cold weather, without the sable muff that would let the arm into it up 
to the elbows, and protect the whole upper portion of the body 
when held up before their faces. 

Mrs. Major Weeks's muff and cape probably contained as many as 
eighty prime sable skins. These skins were often dressed and made 
up by those who wore them. The feet of both women and children 
were protected by good, strong calf-skin shoes, or boots made by 
the local shoemaker. A pair of thin morocco slippers were held in 
high esteem when our mothers wished to show off their feet to ad- 
vantage. In winter all wore good, heavy knit socks outside their 
shoes. 

There were those who thought the wearing of ornaments of any 
kind a deadly sin. They usually wore very dark clothing, some- 
times drab. Their bonnets were pasteboard frames covered with 
cambric of the desired color, drawn tight over it by means of strings 
sewed to the covering. When finished they were in the shape of a 
flour scoop. That class did not attend church at the old meeting- 
house. 

The clothing of the men was called " sheep's gra}%" that is, a mix- 
ture of white and black wool. Nearly every farmer kept a few black 
sheep, or brown ones, for the purpose of making gray cloth. This 
cloth when dressed by the " clothier " made garments that no one 
need be ashamed to wear. An every-day suit of these clothes 
seemed to defy the effects of time and use. After a }'ear or two of 
wear in sun and storm, it was not easy to tell what the original color 
had been unless it was " sheep's gray." The men at their work 
usually wore a frock of striped woolen cloth, or a leather apron fall- 
ing a few inches below their knees. This apron was divided in the 
lower part and tied around the legs with strings, the lower one being 
a little below the knees. This garment was put aside when not 
at their work. Those men who affected some style had a coat of 
broadcloth and a fancy vest of some kind of figured goods. As to 
hats they varied in shape about as much as at the present time. But 
a hat made by Frederick Messer or Ephraim Cross was no slight 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 349 

affair. The hat might get " rusty," but did not wear out. At one 
time the dress hats made of fur were ridiculously large and a more 
absurd shape could scarcely be imagined. 

As every farmer, and all were farmers until about 1835, killed his 
own meats there were many hides and skins to go to the tanner, 
which after about a year, returned as leather. At the approach of 
cold weather, Heber Blanchard, John Dow, and other shoemakers 
commenced their rounds called " whipping the cat." Each with 
his kit of shoemakers' tools took up his place in one corner of the 
kitchen of one of his customers, where he stitched and pegged away 
until the whole family were thoroughly shod for the winter from the 
oldest down to the youngest child. This task finished, his presence 
was welcomed at the next house. In this way the people of Lancas- 
ter had their shoemaking done for more than two generations. While 
this operation was going on rolls of cloth from the " clothiers " be- 
gan to come home. The clothier received his pay for dressing the 
cloth in wheat, butter, cheese, sugar, and other produce from the 
farm. Soon after the shoemaker followed the tailor with his tapes 
and shears and a couple of sewing women. He cut the clothing, 
especially the coats and other important garments, and the women 
made them up. The sewing women sometimes cut as well as made 
boys' clothes. The tailor took his pay in farm produce, but the 
sewing girls always required cash at fifty cents a day. The cloth- 
ing was thus made by tailors and sewing women going from house 
to house as did the shoemakers. 



CHAPTER V. 

GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS OF EARLY TIMES. 

The Public Gatherings, Social Entertainments, Frolics, Games, and 
Customs of Earlier Days — Regimental Musters — Terms of Court 
— Spelling Schools — Donation Parties — Quilting and Paring 
Bees — Turkey Shoots or Shooting Matches — Squirrel Hunts — 
Pitching Quoits — Round, Long, and Drive Ball — Athletic 
Sports — Huskings, with Scraps of Husking Songs. 

By Henry O. Kent. 

In no respect, perhaps, has the change within the last half century 
been greater to residents of Lancaster, than in the character of public 
gatherings and social customs and amusements. 

Before the advent of railroads and telegraphs there was little from 
the outside world to challenge the attention of the people. The 



350 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

merchant made semi-annual trips, spring and fall, to Portland or 
Boston, to purchase goods, — there were no commercial travelers. 
The clergymen attended annual conference, the lawyers the courts 
in the adjoining counties, and on rare occasions at Concord or 
Portsmouth, and political magnates attended the state conventions. 
The local newspaper was the medium of intelligence and compen- 
dium of information, save when Hill's JVew Uamps/iire Patriot, or 
McFarland's New Hampshire Statesman secured lodgment in 
occasional families. The people were self-reliant in their gatherings 
and amusements as in material things. 

The annual regimental muster, and the semi-annual terms, in 
May and November, of the higher courts, all at Lancaster, were the 
great occasions of the year. 

The county, in addition to its present territory, until 1848, com- 
prised the towns of Jackson and Bartlett, below the White Moun- 
tains, now annexed to Carroll county. 

There were two regiments of militia in Coos, the original Twenty- 
fourth, and later the Forty-second, corresponding in territory to the 
present northern judicial district for the Twenty-fourth, and the 
southern judicial district for the Forty-second. The occasion of the 
annual fall parade, when the regiment was assembled and exercised 
by its ofificers, and inspected and reviewed by the brigade general, was 
in fact as in name, a " muster day," — a muster of the people from 
far and near to accompany the local troops, to witness the evolu- 
tions, to make necessary purchases, meet business appointments, 
exchange greetings with friends, and have a good time generally. 
From before dawn until late at night, a representative crowd thronged 
the streets, pressed upon the picket line, and, thoroughly good 
humored, stored up experiences to be narrated during the coming 
year. 

The terms of court were of equal interest. Lancaster was then 
the full shire of the county ; litigation was general, each town was 
likely to have its famous case, and both plaintiff and defendant had 
loyal following among kindred and neighbors. The old work of 
counterfeiting silver coin was then in frequent operation, and crimi- 
nal actions, while not common, were not infrequent. A grand jury, 
with two petit juries, the numerous parties and witnesses, made up a 
retinue that filled the quiet hamlet to overflowing. Hotel accom- 
modations were limited. The Court usually had rooms at some pri- 
vate house, while the lawyers preempted the Coos Hotel, the best 
hostelry of the region. The American House was packed, and the 
overflow filled the " Temperance House, By George, Howe Enter- 
tainment for men and Beasts," as the swinging sign of George 
Howe's little Temperance House, standing where J. P. Haseltine's 
building on Main street now is, quaintly announced, — filled it so 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 35 I 

full that Artemas Ward, then an apprentice at the printing business, 
and a boarder therein, averred that " Brother Howe " would put a 
juryman to bed, with his limited accommodations, and as soon as he 
was asleep take him carefully from his couch and hang him up on 
a -peg in the spare room till morning, serving each new comer the 
same way, and again awaking them, in turn, in the bed from which 
they had been taken. 

Trials were hotly contested ; the court-house was continually 
filled for a term of from four to six weeks, Saturdays and Mondays 
included, and the scenes at the court-house furnished the staple for 
discussion and narrative in the homes of the county. The mer- 
chants were busy " during court," people turned an honest dollar by 
taking " court boarders," and our visitors brought a freshness of 
demeanor, independence, and varied experience to the county seat, 
at once entertaining and valuable, aside from materially increasing 
the business and life of the village during their sojourn. 

Up to about this time, 1S50, the apprentice system prevailed in 
all the shops of the town. There was then no closing of the stores 
on any evening, no lectures, sometimes a " lyceum " at the 
academy, a " debating society," or a spelling school, but these were 
rare occurrences. From September to March the shops were 
lighted and the apprentices "worked evenings." From March to 
September work ceased in the shops at sunset. 

It was a summer recreation on Saturday evenings for the appren- 
tices " after they had knocked off work," and such clerks as could 
get away from their respective stores, together with the occasional 
law student, or " academy teacher," to "go in swimming" in the 
clear cool waters of the river, not as now polluted by sewerage and 
sawdust, but fresh from the crystal springs and deep forests on the 
slopes of Mount Washington, fragrant, almost, with the odors of the 
pines and the hemlocks, and musical with the song of the trees and 
the winds. 

The mill pond was the place chosen, the hour just after dark. 
The mill pond was the deep, clear pool above the dam, between the 
sawmill and the fulling-mill, where the dam now is, above Main 
Street bridge, ten feet or more in depth, clean gravel bottom, while 
below the dam lurked cavernous depths to tempt the adventurous 
diver. A "spring board," a tough spruce plank, was always 
extended from the flume above the old sawmill, on the northern 
bank, out over the deep, clear water, and athletic exercises of a high 
order were performed thereon, — a swift dart from the bank across 
the plank, and a bounding leap into the water ; a balancing of the 
body communicating a springing motion to the end of the plank, 
and a spring from this tense leverage, throwing the di\'er high in 
air ; or, best of all, a somersault between the plank and the water, 



352 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

striking the latter with hands, pahns together extended, above the 
head, were the feats in greatest demand and received with the 
greatest favor, while the daring spirits dove into the abyss below 
and beneath the dam, emerging in subterranean recesses under the 
planking; or above the dam, " swum under water," to the ecstatic 
alarm of smaller boys and admiring friends. For years during the 
warmer season this was the weekly gathering and revel of the young 
men and boys of the village. 

Pitching " quates " (quoits) was another and favorite amusement 
much practised by clerks and students who had occasional leisure 
during the golden summer days. Two stakes, or pins, were set or 
driven into the ground from fifty to sixty feet apart, protruding, per- 
haps, six or eight inches ; the players, armed with fllat, iron scale 
weights, or stones, or sometimes horseshoes, placed the left heel 
against one of these " hubs," the other foot extended before him, 
the weight or missile in his right hand, and essayed to heave and 
land it so it would touch the other hub, or be as near it as possible. 
The succeeding player attempted the same thing, being privileged 
to knock away his predecessor's quoit by his own, if possible. He 
who landed his quoit nearest the hub, was the victor of that score, 
and an agreed number of points made up the game. 

Wrestling was a favorite pastime, and a test of quick foot, quick 
eye, and lithe body. There was the " side hold," " back hold," 
" back to back," " arm's length," each expressive of the position of 
the friendly contestants. If a man was brought to his knees, he 
was beaten; if he was laid upon his back, he was vanquished. 
There were noted champions in Lancaster and the towns around 
about. "A wrestle — a wrestle, make a ring " — was sure to call a 
goodly crowd, who made a ring around the athletes, to see fair play 
and encourage favorites. There were stalwart, sinewy boys and 
young men always ready to uphold the honor of "proud Lancaster, "^ 
and equally wary and " cordy " fellows on our borders, who dis- 
puted our preeminence. Jefferson was especially prolific in splendid 
specimens of physical manhood. Every muster field had its hero. 
The old meeting-house common knew what wrestling meant, the 
stable yards of the Coos Hotel and American House, and even the 
precincts of the Temperance House, were arenas for these gladi- 
ators, transferred in winter to the broad floors of the hotel stables. 
Accidents were rare, and muscle, courage, and local and physical 
pride were alike developed. 

Rolling tenpins was another popular amusement. The original 
" ninepins," set in the form of a cocked hat at the farther end of 
the hard-wood alley, were under the anathema of legislation, so 
another pin was inserted in the middle of the triangle of nine, and 
"tenpins" was a legal and commendable game, developing muscle 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 353 

and calling into use delicate touch of the ball and quick conception 
of the " break " it was desirable to make. Phenomenal "strings" 
were rolled on Cady's old alley, in rear of the Coos Hotel, situate 
on the edge of a little rolling green field sloping down to the river, 
and about where the row of small houses now is between Canal and 
Main streets. The "spares," "strikes," and "flops" of those days lin- 
ger yet in the memory of many a Lancaster boy of maturing years. 

"Fireworks" were unknown, but effervescing patriotism was 
never unknown to the denizen of our town. Fourth of July was 
always celebrated, and a Fourth of July evening would have been a 
dismal failure but for a flaming beacon on the sawed-off limb (fifty 
feet above the street) of the old elm tree then standing in the cen- 
tre of Main street, about opposite the south line of Centennial park ; 
and " throwing fire balls." These " fire balls" were a domestic pro- 
duct. A great lot of candle wicking soaked in a tub of turpentine 
was the crude article, loosely wound to a ball of perhaps six inches 
in diameter, and left until use in the inflammable bath. The pro- 
duct awaited the dark and the deft manipulation of the throwers. 
The ball, taken from its bath, was lighted, and thrown by its first 
sponsor, to be caught bare handed by the next and instantaneously 
dispatched on another blazing flight through the sky. The rapidity 
of handling prevented burning hands, and deft players would soon 
have the air alive with fiery arcs, tangents, parabolas, and, as the 
balls burned out, blazing stars of fragments. 

" Round ball " was the country ancestor of modern " baseball." 
Parties " chose up " by matching hand over hand on a " ball club." 
He who last could hold the end of the club by the edge of his closed 
hand, above the hand of his rival, with a grip sufficiently strong to 
swing it without its falling, had the first choice. The " umpire," or 
his prototype, "kept tally" by cutting notches on a wooden "tally 
stick " as parties were caught out, or " ran round the goolds," and 
a given number of " tallies " made the game. When one side was 
" caught out," the other had a chance. 

" Long ball " was a kind of cross between " round ball " and 
"drive ball," and was a favorite game. We find it in the diary of 
a former citizen, whose advent to town was seventy years ago, that 
the day of his arrival "being Election Day (June), I engaged in a 
game of Long ball on the Holton Common." 

Drive ball was, perhaps, akin to modern football, save that it was 
played with bats and a ball of common size, each side endeavoring 
to drive the other up or down the long street, by forcing the ball 
beyond them. 

"Three-year-old cat" and "four-year-old cat" were ball games 
for juveniles. Each game had a pitcher and catcher, and one or two 
at the bat or bats, all in line, the ball being thrown alternately 
23 



354 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

each way ; the game being in "catching out" the boy at the bat, 
who then took the pitcher's or catcher's place. 

"Lifting at stiff heels" was another athletic test, one party ex- 
tending himself on his back on the ground, his legs straight, close 
together, and stiff at the knees; the lifter placing himself astride 
these legs at the feet, clasping his hands under them at the calves, 
and essaying to raise his prostrate, but thoroughly alive, subject to 
an upright position; the contortions of the " stiff" frequently baffling 
the muscle of the champion. Any movement of the prone body 
was admissible; only the legs must be kept " stiff." 

It is, perhaps, pertinent to preserve here the mystic formulae of 
childhood, through the observance of which high questions were 
decided and mighty champions selected, or, perchance, caitiff pre- 
tenders unmasked. The language of magic is recondite and mystic, 
and so came down to the youth of Lancaster from the days of the 
Druids, if not from Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. 

Ranged in a trembling or expectant line, the neophites watched 
the finger of the Sybil, in turn transfixing each, accompanied by the 
mysterious polyglot, — 

" Entry, mentry, cutery corn, 

Apple seeds and apple thorn, 

Wire, brier, limber lock, — 

Six geese in a flock. 

Sit and sing by the spring, — 

O-u-t — out!" 
or,— 

" One-e-ry — u-ger-y — ick-er-y ann, 

Philosy, pholosy, — Nicholas John, — 

En-e me-ne mo-ne-mi, — Pester lady bode si, — 

Argy — dargy — walk ! " 

the one remaining of the company in either case being champion 
or victim as the game decreed. 

The " shooting match," or " turkey shoot," was another occa- 
sion appealing strongly to the marksmen and young men of the 
community. These matches were holden in the autumn, and usu- 
ally just before Thanksgiving. While turkeys were the usual game 
competed for, chickens, and sometimes other fowl, were placed 
upon the stands. 

These matches were sometimes held at the north end, about the 
Holton place or Francis Wilson's, the site of Mrs. Jacob Benton's 
residence, but the favorite and usual spot was Cady's meadow. 
Here were combined the proximity of the hotel, and incidentally its 
bar, the ten-pin alley on one side of the lot, and central location. 

Cady's meadow, fifty years ago, was the land now covered by 
Canal street and the buildings on either side, and so far east as the 
rear of the original lots on Main street. It was a green, pleasant 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 355 

field, sloping down from the hotel buildings and ten-pin alley to 
Isreals river, in the centre of which was an emerald island, now 
nearly worn away, then known as Cady's island. In the midst of 
this meadow was a large, graceful elm, its roots laved by the bab- 
bling little brook that coursed down from Bunker hill, crossing 
Main street in front of the J. A. Smith store, then the site of Sam 
Rines's blacksmith shop. 

The turkeys or other prizes were fastened by their legs upon 
stands, generally a board nailed to the top of a stake driven into 
the ground, the stakes being at the lower end of the lot near the 
present shops of the Thompson Mfg. Co. The marksmen were at 
the other end of the field, or nearer, as the rules allowed; the arms 
were rifles, and to secure the prize the ball must draw blood, the 
price per shot being regulated before the lists opened. Marksmen 
came from near and far, and the day was not without its excitement, 
the cracking rifles, the frightened birds, and the incidents of the 
shoot combining to fill out the picture. 

Of perhaps broader interest was the " squirrel hunt." This, too, 
occurred in the fall after the leaves had fallen. Some two recog- 
nized good fellows were agreed upon as captains, who then pro- 
ceeded to " choose sides" until every skilled marksman or owner of 
a good weapon was enlisted on the one side or the other. The day 
which should terminate the hunt was then fixed and the list and 
value of all game was agreed upon. As the occasion was called a 
squirrel hunt, the squirrel — common red squirrel — was taken as the 
unit of count and rated as lo. Every animal known to the region 
was listed, the black bear being 500, and figures approximating 
the scarcity of the animal or difficulty of capture applied to each. 

The two sides were to scour the country, and diplomacy as well 
as powder and shot was called into account. It mattered not how 
the tokens of game were procured — actual possession determined 
the count. The tail, ears, or head of the animal, as the case 
might be, must be the evidence when the game was counted up. 
This was the finale of the several weeks' hunt. Judges, who had 
been agreed upon, met at one of the village hotels on the evening 
of the last day of the hunt, and to them was submitted by either 
side in turn all the heads, tails, ears, of animals shot or secured. 
The count was made, and the side having the smallest score was 
bound to pay for a supper, and the best the tavern afforded, for all 
the hunters of both sides. 

Great skill must be exercised by the judges that only fresh game 
should be counted. Old game used in other places or at former 
hunts must be discovered and thrown out if possible. In one of the 
last of these hunts, an ingenious apprentice, whose wit was more 
active than his legs or gun, actually manufactured a lot of leather 



356 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

muski'at tails, which successfully passed the scrutiny of the com- 
mittee and decided the hunt. 

It was a notable evening — that of the hunting supper. The roar- 
ing tavern fireplaces, the ruddy, jolly hunters, the loaded tables, 
the jest, song, and thoroughly good fellowship, marked an occasion 
that dwells pleasantly in memor}'. 

Donation parties were common among all the denominations. 
They were held to eke out, or to add to, the pay and comforts of 
the minister. The date was after harvest and " killing time " and 
the first snow. All the people came, and brought of their abun- 
dance, grain, meat, sled-length wood, homespun cloth, rolls, maple 
sugar, butter, from the farm ; furniture or iron work from the shops ; 
goods from the stores ; and the miscellaneous items selected by the 
village people. Father, mother, children — old folks and young 
folks — came to see the pastor, shake hands, visit with attending 
neighbors, express their goodwill, enjoy an abundant lunch selected 
by a committee of ladies from their own benefactions, listen to the 
swelling tones of some grand old hymn by the church choir, a 
kindly, earnest prayer from the minister, and the benediction. 
Many a year was the spare pantry, the empty woodyard, the vacant 
mow filled to bursting by kindly parishioners, and bonds of love 
between pastor and people renewed and strengthened through these 
gatherings. There is a shading to almost every picture, and until 
the days of their decadence donations were as here set down. 
There were always some stingy souls manifested thereat, whose 
punishment doubtless came in the crackling of their own shriveled 
consciences and the quiet but observant comments of their more 
generous neighbors. 

The quilting-bee was a woman's institution, perhaps not unlike 
the more modern " sewing circle." There were few if any dress- 
making establishments. The dressmaker of those days, like the 
tailor and the shoemaker, went around from house to house, with 
shears, goose, or lapstone, there remaining until the season's outfit 
for the family was completed. 

All the pieces of print, merino, alpacca, or rare bits of silk or 
satin were rigidly preserved. The mother and girls of the house- 
hold cut these pieces of cotton or silk into squares, piecing them 
together in kaleidoscopic pattern, the many tiny bits making a 
whole square, and the many squares, perhaps the accumulations of 
years, the entire outside of the quilt or " bed comforter." 

Every well-regulated house had a set of quilting frames, smooth, 
straight pieces of pine, two inches wide, one inch thick, and ten feet 
long, to one edge of which was tacked a stout piece of cotton cloth, 
perhaps two inches wide. 

The day of the quilting-bee came ; the lining of the quilt or com- 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 357 

forter was placed upon the floor of the spare room ; cotton batting 
or cotton wadding, generally batting, to the desired thickness was 
spread upon this ; the patchwork outside placed on top of all, the 
whole being "tacked together" by occasional threads. Then the 
two long sides of the quilt were stitched to the strips on the edge 
of two quilting bars, these bars then supported at either end by 
being put between and upon the horizontal back-slats of four 
straight-back, splint-bottomed upright kitchen chairs; the quilt was 
then stretched taut and held in place by the two remaining bars, 
being placed at either end, and held in place by " gimlets " bored 
down at the point of intersection. Maids and matrons then ranged 
their chairs on either of the two sides of the quilt, the pasteboard 
patterns of the "figure " agreed upon after deep thought, scalloped, 
herring-boned, diamond, etc., etc., laid upon the surface of the work, 
the emery balls and beeswax at hand, the needles threaded, and the 
work began. As it progressed the gimlets were withdrawn, the 
quilting-bars rolled up and again fastened, until the two sides met 
each other, and the work was done. 

Then followed the supper, prepared in the spacious kitchen, be- 
fore the open fireplace, and there partaken of, the greatest triumphs 
of New England housewifery being then produced and enjoyed 
with neighborly chat and narrative. Many of these quilts were 
indeed wonders, and exist to-day to evidence the taste, skill, and 
industry of our grandmothers. 

The apple-paring was a less notable, although not unusual, gath- 
ering, and was enjoyed more particularly by the young people. 
Nearly every farm had its apple orchard, and apples entered largely 
into the sum of farm products. As the crop could not all be used 
when gathered to preserve a part, the apples were pared, cored, and 
sliced, and then strung on strings or coarse thread, a large needle 
making the puncture, the strings of apple being hung in festoons 
on the poles, which were then suspended in every kitchen, and 
used as occasion demanded, for drying yarn from the dye-pot, 
clothing, pumpkins sliced and cut in spirals for winter use, and ap- 
ples as here prepared. 

Pitchers of cider and heaps of butternuts were at hand to regale the 
parers, for whom a bountiful supper was furnished when the work was 
done. The red apple, with its attendant salutation from sweetheart 
or " beau," was never overlooked, in attending to the store of fruit. 

The spelling-school was another institution of much interest, if 
not usefulness, and was enjoyed throughout the town during the 
autumn and winter months. Sometimes a school was organized be- 
tween scholars of the same district, but more generally one district 
challenged another district, and occasionally some district challenged 
or was challenged by a district in an adjoining town. 



358 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The first thing in organizing the session was for the two most 
accomphshed spellers to choose sides for the match, unless one 
district was pitted against another district. These leaders, male or 
female, alternately chose one clansman, personally for his or her 
excellence in spelling, alone. It was no anomaly for an adept to be 
a poor scholar generally but a wonderful speller. The attendance 
being thus enrolled on either side, the opposing forces took places, 
standing in line, in the back seats of either side of the schoolhouse. 
Some favorite was chosen, — perhaps the teacher, perhaps the pru- 
dential committee for the district, perhaps the local magistrate, or 
possibly some phenomenal adept from out of town, — to preside and 
" put out the words." Taking his place in the teacher's desk, the 
visiting citizens filling the lower seats or convenient chairs, the busi- 
ness of the evening commenced. The words first presented were 
simple and harmless. The leader of the side challenged had the first 
call ; if spelled .correctly, the next word came to his next in order ; 
but if failure ensued, the unfortunate member took his seat, and the 
next word went in like manner to the other side. Gradually the 
words grew harder, and the interest greater; man after man, or boy 
and girl after boy and girl, went down before the fateful battery of 
wonderful words, selected for the occasion by the erudite presiding 
genius; at last but a diminishing few remained, and the polyglot 
words grew fearful and strange to unaccustomed ears. At last, when 
excitement was at fever heat, all had missed and been "spelled 
down " but one ; and then the decision came, that his or her side 
had beaten, and that he or she was the champion of the evening. 

The ride to the rendezvous and the more thrilling ride home un- 
der the stars, over the crisp and snowy roads, through welcomed 
covered bridges where " taking toll " was permitted, was not an 
immaterial part of the evening's enjoyment. 

The incidents of the trial, how such and such a one faltered at a 
new and astounding word ; how they went down before the recur- 
ring bombardment, or gathered the forces of memory and intui- 
tion and repelled the shaft and won new honors, were topics of fire- 
side conversation and gratification to admiring friends. 

Huskings occurred in the later autumn months, and were largely 
attended and popular. Every farmer raising a considerable crop of 
corn, invited his neighbors to help husk it out. The great farms 
on the intervale of the Connecticut, however , were more natural 
corn land, raised larger crops, and offered larger opportunities for 
this noticeable festival. 

The husking at Col. John H. White's, Major John VV. VVeeks's, 
Esquire Adino N. Brackett's, William Brown's, Gorham Lane's, 
Roswell Chessman's, Ezra Brooks's, Emmons Stockwell's, Josiah Bel- 
lows's, Mrs. Holton's, Dr. Benjamin Hunking's, Col. Ephraim Cross's, 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 359 

Gov. Jared W. Williams's, were, half a century ago, notable affairs, 
and each place had its particular reputation for the gathering assem- 
bled, the variety of work and fun likely to be had and enjoyed, and 
the excellence of the husking supper that crowned the evening's 
observance. 

Let us look upon a husking floor ready for use. The ears of corn 
are piled along the length of one side of the long floor from the big 
doors at one end to the big doors at the other, sometimes the pile 
being four feet on the floor, and reaching an equal height against 
the feeding-place or the mow. On this, at perhaps ten feet inter- 
vals, were placed the empty baskets to be filled with the husked 
corn ears as the work progressed, pumpkins were placed along the 
base of the heap for seats for the buskers, and pitchforks, the tines 
firmly stuck into the hay of the scaffold, the handles projecting out 
over the corn heap, suspended the lanterns of the period — round 
cylinders of tin, punched with holes in regular patterns, through 
which holes the light of the tallow-dipped candle inside struggled 
to give illumination. 

Men were detailed to carry away and empty the baskets as fast as 
filled, and all was in readiness. The company assembled by 7 
p. m., and the work was usually completed two hours later, some- 
times with a big pile of ears, or a scant company an hour later than 
-this. 

These were male gatherings, the damsels reserving their presence 
for " waiting upon the tables " at the supper later in the evening. 
As the work progressed singing was always in order. There were 
well-known and popular singers in each community whose presence 
was much sought on these occasions, and who prided themselves 
upon their accomplishments and their popularity. Melody and tune 
was not necessary, although of frequent occurrence. A strong voice 
and a collection of the popular songs were the chief requisites. 
Story-telling and practical jokes were not wanting, and the events 
of each neighborhood were the topics of homely and witty comment. 
Although the damsels were not present, the finder of the traditional 
red ear came in for the marked attention of the company in the 
form of a bombardment of hard ears of husked corn, from which he 
was glad to hide his head, or perhaps retreat temporarily from the 
scene. 

The writer recalls a husking at the barn of a noted Democratic 
manager and politician, a barn once standing where the Lancaster 
House swings and tennis grounds now are, then standing directly 
back from the big elm where the barn of the William Burns place 
on Main street now is, now standing on Ethan Crawford's place 
near the Main street railroad crossing. (1897). 

A good time was expected (and had) and the attendance large. 



36o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Among the crowd was a zealous Democratic lad from a home long 
ago laid in ashes, then standing on a road now for many years 
abandoned, and near the famous cold spring, from which the Lan- 
caster House is supplied. Harry had found a red ear, and the pelt- 
ing became fast and furious. For a time it was borne with good 
humor; but annoyance and a sense of personal injury followed, 
until in a voice choked with rage and tears, the victim announced 
if he could n't " come down to Colonel Cross's to a Democrat husk- 
ing without getting thi'ozved corn at, he should vote the Whig 
ticket next election." 

The threat was sufficient, the shower of husked ears ceased ; but 
the logic of premise and conclusion is recalled as not wholly unlike 
that of many patriots of later years, as to their reasons for the votes 
they give. 

Our description of a husking would be incomplete without recall- 
ing scraps of the favorite songs of those occasions as they linger in 
memory. They were a strange composite — sentimental, patriotic, 
and some bordering upon broad license, but never far enough to 
provoke deserved censure. 

Here is a verse of a wailing song, descriptive of piratical life, a 
calling that always seems to have especial attractions to the young : 

'♦ We met a gallant vessel a-sailing on the sea. 
For mercy, for mercy, for mercy was her plea ! 
But the mercy that we gave her, we sunk her in the sea, 
Sailing down on the coast of the Low Barbar-i?^." 

Another favorite narrated the sad consequences that came to the 
young man who was false to his own true love : 

'« My father's in his winding sheet. 

My mother, too, appears. 
While the girl I loved is standing by, 

A-wiping off the tears. 
They all have died of a broken heart, 

And now too late I find 
That God has seen my cr\xe\tee 

To the girl I left behind." 

"Lord Bateman" was always popular, as the interminable verses 
droned out, — 

" Lord Bateman was a noble lord, 
A noble lord of high degree." 

A song always received with hilarious applause, akin in rhythm 
and narrative to "One-Eyed Riley" of the " Fighting Fifth," started 
into full swing with, — 



GAMES, SPORTS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 36 1 

" There was a rich merchant in London did dwell ; 
He had but one daughter, a beautiful gell. 
For wit and for beauty none did her excel ; 
And she married for her husband a trooper. 
Li whack fol de riddle, fol lol de rol diddle, 
Li whack fol de riddle do da." 

And another chronicled the adventures of a barber who had filled 
his pockets with stolen butter and cheese, and on the adv^ent of the 
owner had hidden himself uf the chimney : 

" I being up the chimney and seated at my ease. 
The fire began to melt the butter, likewise to toast the cheese. 
The master being in the house, he thought the devil was there ; 
For every drop that fell in the fire, oh Lord ! how it did flare ! " 

Love and shipwreck came in the ballad of " Roy Niel " : 

" They sailed away in a gallant bark, 

Roy Niel and his fair young bride. 
There were joyous hearts in that bounding oak. 

As she danced o'er the silvery tide. 
But a storm arose as they left the land. 

And the thunders shook the deep. 
And the lightning's flash broke the short repose 

Of the weary sea-boy's sleep. 
Roy Niel he clasped his fair young bride, 

And pressed her trembling hand. 
' Oh, love ! 'twas a fatal hour,' he cried, 

' When we left our native land.' " 

" Young Albion," a song of the Pemigewasset river, was always 
eagerly listened to. It narrated how 

•' On the Pemigewasset at break of the day, 
A birchen canoe was seen gliding away. 
As swift as the wild duck that swam by its side, 
In silence the bark down the river did glide. 
At intervals heard 'mid the bellowing sigh. 
The hoot of the owl and the catamount's cry, 
The howl of the wolf from his lone granite cell, 
And the crash of the dead forest tree as it fell. 
Young Albion, the chief of his warriors, was there, 
With the eye of an eagle, the foot of a deer." 

The buskers were never tired of hearing how 

" Down in the lowlands a poor boy did wander, 
Down in the lowlands a poor boy did roam. 
By his friends he was neglected. 
He look-ed so dejected, 
This poor little sailor boy, so far away from home." 



362 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Some lingering trace of the old fraternal feeling for France, for 
her help in our Revolutionary contest, I suppose warmed the hearts 
and prompted the applause that always greeted " The Bonny Bunch 
of Roses, oh ! " and the filial devotion of the young king of Italy, as 
expressed in the words, — 

" Then up stepped young Na-po-Ie-on 

And took his mother by the hand, 

Saying ' Mother, dearest mother, when I am able to command, 

'Tis I will take an army, and o'er the frozen Alps I '11 go, 

And I will reconquer Moscow, and return with the Bonny Bunch of Roses, oh ! ", 

Equally a favorite was the ballad of " Mary of the Wild Moor" : 

" One night the wind it blew cold, 
Blew bitter across the wild moor. 
When Mary came wandering home. 

Wandering home to her own father's door, 

" Crying, ' Father, oh, pray let me in ; 
Take pity on me, I implore, 
Or the child at my bosom will die 

From the winds that blow o'er the wild moor.' 

" But her father was deaf to her cries ; 

Not a sound or a voice reached the door. 
And that night Mary perished and died 

From the winds that blew o'er the wild moor. 

" Oh, how must her father have felt 

When he came to the door in the morn ! 
There he found Mary dead, and the child 
Fondly clasped in its dead mother's arms." 

But the candles flicker in the swaying lanterns, a big pile of husks 
attests the labors of the evening, and the corn is safely spread on the 
chamber floor to dry. Adjournment is made to the farmhouse 
kitchen, illumined by the roaring fireplace and garnished by coils 
of drying pumpkin and strings of quartered apples. The tables 
groan under stores of pumpkin-pies, " sage cheese, spearmint-tinc- 
tured cheese, horsemint-tinctured cheese," brown bread, apples, and 
pitchers of cider, the incidents of the evening are discussed with the 
supper, and after an hour of moral fun the jolly buskers separate 
under the stars for the scattered farms on hillside or along the river, 
or wend their way down the sleeping street, past the Gun House 
and burying ground, under the weird shadows made by the straight 
Lombardy poplars that line the street, or the magic thrown by the 
Great Willow standing on the left of the line reaching south from 
the site of the present Lancaster House. Perhaps some adventur- 
ous spirits, spurning slumber, prepared an object lesson for the 



MERCANTILE ENTERPRISES AND MERCHANTS. 363 

village fathers by launching " Old Hundred " in the muddy pool 
engendered by insufficient drainage near the sign-post of the Coos 
Hotel, or with lump of chalk striped the red sign-post of Brother 
Howe's Temperance House to the semblance of a barber's pole ; but 
these were occasional and harmless frolics, devoid of malice. Usu- 
ally a half hour after the close of the husking-supper, town and 
village were locked in slumber. 

The amusements of the earlier days were simple, harmless, enjoy- 
able. They developed at once muscle, character, patriotism ; they 
nurtured a sturdy race. It is not without the province of a history 
of the town — the story of its birth, life, and condition — to record in 
its pages this imperfect record of our recreations and customs in 
the years that are gone. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE MERCANTILE ENTERPRISES AND MERCHANTS OF LAN- 
CASTER. 

At the time the town was settled, the trade in furs and skins had 
attained such proportions that these articles were as good as cur- 
rency. The first stock of goods brought to town was by David 
Page in 1766. It was stipulated in the bill of the goods that they 
were to be " traded out," and paid for in furs and skins, moose and 
bear skins being particularly mentioned as desirable. In those first 
years there was probably very little money in circulation, as every 
settler was on an equal footing with every other one. They had but 
little. The world lay at their feet, a great possibility to be tried, 
and, if possible, conquered, and homes built and made comfortable. 
Utility, not elegance, was the quality that recommended any- 
thing to them. When Merchant Molineau of Boston, Mass., was 
putting up a load of goods to be sent to Lancaster, he included : 
"Axes, grindstones, scythes, sickles, nails, flints for their guns, pow- 
der, blanketing, lampwick, and rum." Articles like these were 
indispensable to a new settlement, but their sale could only be 
effected by barter. 

For several years David Page and Edwards Bucknam kept such 
important articles for trade, though they made no attempt at it as a 
business. The goods were carted here at an expense about equal 
to the first cost. They came high and left little profit for the 
sellers. Fortunately, furs and skins of bear and moose were plenty 
and everybody generous, so that the trader could no doubt square 
his accounts with the wholesale merchants in the cities. 

As the community grew, and the wants of the people became 



364 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

more numerous, and they had more to buy with, traders began to 
multiply ; and soon the first merchant came to town in the person- 
age of a French ex-consul from Portsmouth, who lost his post by 
the accession of Napoleon Bonaparte to the throne of France on 
the overthrow of the Bourbons in 1799. Early in the year 1800, 
he came to Lancaster and opened a store in the south part of the 
town, just opposite the residence of Capt. John Weeks, on the east 
side of the road leading to South Lancaster. 

Here for four years this man, John Toscan, sold goods as his 
only business in a log house. His house and its contents were 
burned in 1804, ^^^ he left town to return to Portsmouth. 

The next person to become a merchant in town was Stephen 
Wilson. Although Mr. Wilson had kept goods in his hotel at the 
north end of Main street while Toscan was a merchant here, it was 
only for barter in a small way. After the loss of Toscan's store 
there was a demand for a better stock of goods, and Wilson im- 
proved the opportunity to make his store the leading one in the 
village. Very soon other stores were opened at that end of the 
street. These stores sold all sorts of things needed in a new coun- 
try, and took their pay in things as varied as those they sold. I 
have before me the ledger of Stephen Wilson, which shows a traffic 
in a variety of things that are no longer on the markets. He 
credits his customers against their debts to him with lumber, butter, 
cheese, ashes, salts of lye, furs, eggs, cloth (of home manufacture), 
livestock, and the labor of both men and women. 

During the first quarter of this century stores were kept about 
the north end of Main street, mostly in dwelling houses, by James 
Dewey, Thomas Carlisle, William Cargill, George W. Perkins, 
George V. Eastman, William Carlisle, John M. Dennison, and 
Benjamin Boardman. Boardman kept his goods in the northeast 
corner of the house in which Ethan Crawford now lives. The Car- 
gills kept their stores in rooms connected with their dwelling houses. 

Titus O. Brown, for some years one of the leading business men 
of the town, kept a stock of goods at the south end of Main street, 
near the south end of the bridge on the west side of the street. The 
site of his store is now occupied by the old post-ofifice building, in 
which Charles Howe has his harness shop. 

A little later, Samuel White, father of the late Nathaniel White 
of Concord, N. H., well known to the older people of Lancaster, 
kept a store in his bar-room in the old Chessman Tavern that stood 
where Kimball's block now does, on the corner of Main and Elm 
streets. He kept here as late as 1825. 

Nearly all of these early storekeepers failed. Some of them lost 
all their property ; others, the greater portion of it. 

Coming down to 1825, a new era in mercantile pursuits in Lan- 





Royal Jovslin. 



James Brack ett Weeks. 



•^ :|K?^ 





Richard Peabodv Kent. 



Nelson Kent. 



MERCANTILE ENTERPRISES AND MERCHANTS. 365 

caster began. In that year the first merchants who ever made a 
success of the business came to Lancaster — Royal JoysHn and 
Richard P. Kent. About the same time, Guy C. and WilHam 
Cargill came here. They were also quite successful as mer- 
chants. Royal Joyslin was a nephew of Thomas Carlisle, a mer- 
chant in Lancaster many years, but who did a small business. Mr. 
Joyslin had lived with his uncle from 1808 to 18 12, when he went 
to Bath, N. H., as a clerk in a store belonging to his uncle, Carlisle, 
Bellows & Dewey, where he remained for ten years, when he left 
them to go into business for himself in partnership with Hosea 
Edson. In 1825 he sold out and came to Lancaster, bringing 
with him the late Richard P. Kent, who worked for him as clerk. 
He opened a stock in the " Carlisle Store," where John T. Amey's 
house now stands. He opened a second store in the old " Samp- 
son Store," later occupied by Hartford Sweet, on Elm street, oppo- 
site the old American House stable. For one year these two were 
the only stores in town. 

In 1828 Guy C. Cargill came to Lancaster from Bath, N. H., 
and in partnership with William Carlisle, opened a store in the old 
Carlisle building. Richard P. Kent formed a partnership with his 
employer, Mr. Joyslin, that year, they occupying the Sampson 
store, or as it was often spoken of, the " Red Store." Business 
had by this time begun to drift toward the south end of Main street, 
in the vicinity of the mills. Very soon Guy C. Cargill moved his 
store down into the old " Green Store," where the Evans block now 
stands. About this time William Sampson came from Northumber- 
land and opened a store in the old Carlisle building. 

Joyslin & Kent did a good business for four years, at the end 
of which time they dissolved partnership, each acting on his own 
account. R. P. Kent bought the Cargill stock (the Green store),, 
while JoysHn remained for three years in the old stand. Joyslin 
moved the old "Red Store" (the Carlisle store) down Main street 
to where the Lancaster National bank now is, and occupied it until 
1845. If* ^845 the town removed the old meeting-house down from 
Sand hill to where it now stands as the main part of Masonic Tem- 
ple or Music Hall, and fitted up a store on the ground floor. The 
second story was used for a town hall, and the attic was fitted up 
as a hall for the Odd Fellows. Here Mr. Joyslin continued until 
1867, when, on account of age and infirmities, he retired from bus- 
iness. He sold to Porter Brothers. Mr. Joyslin was in business 
here for the term of forty-two years. 

R. P. Kent occupied the old "Green Store" until 1837, when he 
moved into the building formerly standing near the site of the stone 
house built by John S. Wells, and which, enlarged in 1853 and 
rebuilt in 1890, is now known as the "Kent Building," on Main 



366 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Street, where he remained until his death, in 1885. In April, 1837, 
he took Lewis C. Porter into partnership with him, which relation 
lasted only three years. From 1840 to 1844 Mr. Kent had no 
partner. His brother Nelson was his clerk since 1836; but in 1845 
he took Nelson into partnership, the firm name being R. P. Kent 
& Co. This partnership only lasted three years, when R. P. Kent 
became the sole owner of the store until 1862, when he took his 
brother Nelson and his son, Edward R. Kent, into partnership, as 
R. P. Kent, Son & Co. After seven years Nelson retired to form 
a partnership with John W. Spaulding. The old firm since that 
time has been known as R. P. Kent & Son. Mr. Kent, from his 
first venture in business in Lancaster, always kept what was known 
as a " general store " — his stock including almost everything on the 
market. Having for many years carried a heavy stock of stoves 
and tinware, also doing tin work, he made that a separate depart- 
ment in 1865, and took Erastus V. Cobleigh into partnership with 
him under the firm name of Kent & Cobleigh. This partnership 
lasted until 1882, when Mr. Kent sold his interest in the hardware 
business, and the firm became Cobleigh & Moore. 

Mr. Kent was, at the time of his death, the oldest merchant in 
tow^n, having been in business on his own account for fifty-seven 
years, and as clerk three years in Lancaster, and sixty-five years 
from his first service as clerk in a store at Lyman. The only one 
who has been in mercantile pursuits a longer time in the town is his 
brother Nelson, who has been behind the counter in stores over 
sixty years. 

R. P. Kent was, with Gen. John Wilson, Royal Joyslin, and Apolos 
Perkins, a partner in the publication of the White Mountain yEgis, 
the first newspaper published in the town in 1838. From 1841 to 
1885 he kept a diary, in which events that engaged the attention 
of men in town, state, or nation were recorded. In this way he 
saved much of local history from uncertainty, if not oblivion. 

He says of mercantile business soon after he came to Lancaster : 

" Nearly all our early sales were made on credit or barter. During my four 
years with Mr. Joyslin we bought 3,000 bushels of ashes yearly, which we 
worked into 'potash and pearlash,' mostly the latter, which netted about $800 
by their sale in Boston. Large quantities of grain were brought in by farmers, 
much of which we had, often, to carry over one season. The weavil appeared in 
the Connecticut valley in 1831, and through the destruction of the winter crop 
we sold one thousand bushels of wheat at one dollar per bushel in the winter of 
1 83 1. Large dairies were kept those times ; and most of the milk was made into 
cheese, which we marketed chiefly at Rutland, Vt." 

Mr. Kent for over forty years never missed making his regular 
semi-annual trips to Boston for the selection of goods; and even 
after commercial travelers were on the road with their samples, or 



MERCANTILE ENTERPRISES AND MERCHANTS. 367 

it had become possible for merchants to order by mail, he still 
visited the wholesale houses and selected his stocks. He was one 
of the most careful and persistent of men. He met with many 
losses from casualties, and the failure or dishonesty of debtors, but 
never pined over them. Full of courage, purpose, and confidence 
in the integrity of business men with whom he had to deal, he went 
on about the business he loved, and made a success of it. 

After the death of R. P. Kent his son, Edward R. Kent, continued 
under the same name. (Its business was closed in 1898, by reason 
of ill health of the remaining partner.) 

Kent & Spauldtiig, Kent & G7-iszvoId, Kent d: Roberts. — 
When Nelson Kent retired from the firm of R. P. Kent & Co., in 
1869, he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, John W. 
Spaulding, under the firm name of Kent & Spaulding. They kept 
only dry goods, and for a number of years did a good business. 
Mr. Spaulding retired from the firm after a few years to engage in 
other business, when Charles L. Griswold, from St. Johnsbury, Vt., 
who had been a clerk in the store of R. P. Kent & Co. for a number 
of years, succeeded Mr. Spaulding as a member of the firm of Kent 
& Griswold. Mr. Griswold, who was son-in-law of Mr. Kent, died 
in 1883, and Mr. Kent took into partnership with him Burleigh 
Roberts, who remains in that connection with him still. (1897). 

yames A. Smith. — One of the first men, a native of the town, 
to make a success of mercantile business was James A. Smith, 
son of Allen Smith, for many years a leading saddler and harness- 
maker of Lancaster. James A. Smith began business in Reuben 
Stephenson's house, corner of Main and Middle streets, but later 
built and moved into the building on Main street where he re- 
mained the rest of his life. His store occupied the site of S. Rines's 
blacksmith shop. Here for about forty years Mr. Smith carried on 
a very successful business. He was a careful and sagacious man. 

Hosea Gray. — One of the most successful men of Lancaster 
was the late Hosea Gray. For many years he conducted a freight- 
ing business between Lancaster and Portland, Me. On one of 
his trips he had the misfortune to get a leg broken, which made 
a change of work necessary. He opened a store in the Reuben 
Stephenson building, corner of Main and Middle streets. This old 
building was later moved to High street and converted into a 
dwelling house, and is now owned and occupied by Thomas C. 
Carbee. Mr. Gray's success as a merchant was so great that he 
soon had to seek larger quarters to accommodate his growing 
trade. He moved into the old Cargill store, where the Evans build- 
ing now is, in 1857. Here for a number of years he remained. 
In addition to his store he bought cattle and drove them to the large 
markets. During the period of the war, and later, he bought up 



368 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the bulk of the potato starch, then being made in large quantities 
in the region, and held it for a rise in price, which soon came ; and 
he made a fortune out of the transaction. For nearly fifty years 
he was one of Lancaster's most successful business men. He died 
August 27, 1882. 

Besides these there were many others who ventured in mercantile 
pursuits, and either finding them less profitable or themselves little 
adapted to them, failed or went out of trade for something else. 

Among them were the following : 

R. L. Adams and Oliver Nutter, who were merchants for a time. 
Charles Bellows, a son of Josiah Bellows, 2d. He bought almost 
anything that promised a bargain, and in that way carried on quite 
a successful business for many years. G. F. Hartwell had a store 
a short time on the corner of Main and Bridge streets, where E. 
Sullivan's house now stands. His venture was not a success. 
David Burnside was in business here for many years. He was a 
tanner by trade. He made a good property loaning money and 
owning and renting real estate in the village. He was interested in 
a variety of enterprises, and in all of them he was successful. His 
son, David A. Burnside, was a merchant in company with Sabin C. 
Woolson, and afterwards proprietor of the Lancaster House. Orrin 
Tubbs conducted a store on the site of the Amey House for some 
time, but it was one of the short-lived enterprises of the town. 
For some years S. G. Evans run a store in the Evans block. Be- 
sides these there were many other ventures in the mercantile line. 

Bookstores. — Few enterprises in Lancaster are more worthy a 
place in its history than the book trade. For fifty years few towns 
of its size could boast larger stocks to select from than those car- 
ried in Lancaster. 

So far as can be learned, the first stock of miscellaneous books 
brought to town was by Perkins & Company, publishers of the 
White Mountain yEgis, in 1838. Previous to that time some of 
the merchants, had carried a small stock of school books, Bibles, 
and religious books. After this first newspaper got fairly estab- 
lished it began carrying a considerable list of publications. 

When James M. Rix began to publish the Coos County Demo- 
crat in 1838, he brought to Lancaster a very fine stock. Mr. Rix 
was a lover of books, and interested himself in getting his neigh- 
bors to read the very best volumes in print. His favorite way of 
calling attention to a new stock was to head the lists in the Demo- 
crat, " Books that are Books." Mr. Rix carried also a stock of 
" Yankee notions," medicines, and garden seeds. He first estab- 
lished his bookstore in the south end of Wells' building, where the 
Kent building now is, then in the Hartwell store which had been 
moved down from the North End, to the site of P. J. Noyes's block.. 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 369 

This Store was burned January 8, 1848, by which fire he lost 
$1,400, with $500 insurance on his stock. He next moved into 
the building occupied by I. W. Quimby's shoe store, now a part 
of Syndicate Block, on Main street. Here he continued his trade 
in books until the time of his death in 1856. He did much to 
encourage and cultivate a taste for good literature in the town. 
His own private library was large and of the very choicest of books. 

The next book store in town was kept in connection with a 
drug store by Dr. John W. Barney and George F. Hartwell, where 
Colby's drug store now stands. Hartwell retired from the business 
in a few years, and Barney conducted it alone a short time, when he 
sold it to Edward Savage, who in turn run it a few years and sold to 
the late Dr. Frank A. Colby and E. B. Hamlin. Colby and Hamlin 
only run the store for two years, when they closed out their stock of 
miscellaneous books, but continued to carry school-books. 

P. J. Noyes and others carried stocks of school-books also until 
1882, when the school laws were changed so as to require free text- 
books to be purchased by the school officers. 

In 1882 George H. Colby opened a book-store in his brother's 
drug store. After a time he occupied the second story of that 
building with a large stock of books and stationery. He later 
moved into the Hazeltine building on Main street, remaining only 
a short time, when he moved into the Hartshorn block on Main 
street. Here for a number of years he carried a large stock of 
books and stationery. In 1894 he moved his store into the McGee 
building on Middle street, where he now is with a lar^e stock of 
goods. 



CHAPTER VII. 

MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES OF THE TOWN FROM ITS SET- 
TLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

FoT AND Pearl Ashes — Cloth and Clothing : Clothing Mills and Tailors 
— Tanners — Shoemakers — Gunsmiths — Furniture Factories — Piano 
Sounding Boards — Blacksmiths — Wagon Makers or Wheelwrights — 
Clock Factory — Harness Makers — Hatters — Mills : Grist-mills and 
Sawmills — Door, Sash, and Blind Factories — Strawboard Mills — 
Starch Factories — Thompson Manufacturing Co. — File Factories — 
Diamond Granite Works. 

Pot and Pearl Ashes. — Aside from hunting and trapping fur- 
bearing animals and the moose, whose pelt afforded good leather, 
the making of pot and pearl ashes was the first industry that 
afforded the early settlers with an article of commerce to exchange 
in the markets for the limited stock of goods brought here. The 
24 



370 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

land was heavily timbered, and during the winter months burning it 
for ashes to sell at the stores was a common occupation for men 
and boys for many years. The merchants traded goods for them, 
and then leached and boiled the lye into a dark salts, sometimes 
referred to as " salts of lye." This salts was treated to a second 
process, which made the pearl ash (Potassii Carhonas Ini^tira., 
U. S. P-)- Gen. John Wilson had a " pearlash " in the rear of 
I. W. Drew's house on Indian Brook ; the Cargill store had one 
some twenty rods south of Wilson's, near the same stream, used 
also by Thomas Carlisle when he was in business at that end of the 
village; Benjamin Boardman had his pearlash just opposite the 
stone house of I. W. Hopkinson on Main street; Reuben Stephen- 
son had one a little off Middle street, near where L. F. Moore's 
back store stands ; and Samuel White had his on the south side of 
the river near the bridge. The late Richard P. Kent wrote in his 
Personal Memoranda, that from 1828 to 1832, while he was a part- 
ner of Royal Joyslin, they took in trade three thousand bushels of 
ashes a year. The business soon began to decline after that date, 
and has long since been given up. It is now only known as a prim- 
itive and crude product and business of the pioneer age of the town. 

The early settlers of the town were by necessity compelled to 
make such articles of apparel, furniture, and implements as they 
used, because they were so far from the markets as to make it prac- 
tically impossible to buy all these things, even if they had been 
for sale. The first load of goods brought to town by Gen. 
Edwards Bucknam cost more for transportation than they were 
billed at ; and these had to be bartered for furs and skins mainly. 
Fortunately those early pioneers possessed skill enough to build 
their own houses, dress skins and furs, spin and weave cloth, and 
make their own clothes. As the community grew in numbers and 
resources, more skilled artisans migrated here and found employ- 
ment at their various trades. 

The Mannfachire of Cloth and Clothing. — Until about 1820, 
nearly all the cloth worn in Lancaster was made by hand in the 
homes of the people. They spun the wool, the flax, and the tow, 
and wove it in their own looms. They colored the yarn or cloth, 
largely by the use of barks and a few simple chemicals. For many 
years the wool and flax were even carded by hand. About 1820, 
what was known as "cotton yarn" began to be carried in stock by 
the merchants. This was used chiefly as warp in the weaving of a 
variety of mixed cloths, and its use was hailed by the hard-worked 
housewives as a boon, for it saved half the work of carding and 
spinning, and it made, in some respects, a finer article of clothing 
than the former fabrics. 

The various processes of spinning, weaving, coloring the cloth, 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 37 I 

and making the garments came in alternating seasons. The wool 
was spun during the early summer, woven and dyed in the fall, and 
made up in the early autumn, which put everybody into their 
woolen clothes ready to brave the winter, while on the other hand 
the flax and tow were dressed in winter, spun, woven, and made up 
ready for their adoption on the approach of warm weather in the 
spring. 

Cloth Mills. — As early as 1805, Richard C. Everett, who was 
a man of considerable means, enterprising and public-spirited, 
erected a large grist-mill nearly on the site of the present sawmill on 
Isreals river, in which he did also carding of wool and fulling or 
dressing cloth for those who made it and brought it to the mill to be 
treated. This was called a "cloth mill," and for half a century these 
mills were common. The Isreals River Manufacturing Company 
later for many years occupied this site, known as the " fulling mill." 
In 181 5 Asahel Going erected a " cloth mill" on the branch of the 
river below the Main Street bridge, on what is now Water street, 
about on the site of the present furniture factory. This mill did a 
good business until about 1839, when it fell into the hands of Fred- 
erick Fisk, who converted it into a pail factory, and which factory 
later became a starch mill run by Fisk & Tillotson (Frederick Fisk 
and John M. Tillotson), and after the starch business was aban- 
doned was converted into a furniture factory by N. H. Richardson, 
who still runs it as such. Wool carding is still carried on by N. W. 
Hartford on Canal street, where rolls are also kept for sale by him. 

Tailors. — Just when tailors made their advent in Lancaster is not 
now known. The first to follow the business were no doubt simply 
seamstresses who developed superior skill in cutting and planning 
garments. After a time professional or skilled tailors came to town. 
These, at first, went from house to house, cutting and fitting the 
more difificult or finer garments. They w^ere often accompanied by 
sewing women, who made the articles up after they were cut. 
The tailor simply took the measures, planned and cut, and then 
would go to the next house, followed in time by the tailoress or 
seamstress. 

The first person to open a regular tailor shop in town was George 
W. Perkins, some time before 1823. Since then Lancaster has 
never been without a good tailoring establishment. The successors 
of Perkins have been his son-in-law, George W. Ingerson, Harrison 
Copp, Jacob Windus — " the German tailor," Woolson & Co., Robert 
Sawyer, l^elson Sparks, T. S. Underwood & Son, Lane Clothing Co. 
(ready-made clothing), and Christian Deitrich. The last three are 
still in business here. 

Ready-made clothing, of late years, has limited the trade of the 
tailors materially, while large stocks of that class of goods are car- 



372 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ried by several houses, — R. P. Kent & Son, Lane Clothing Co., 
Kent & Roberts, and W. C. Sherburne. 

Tanneries. — One of the earliest industries of an}' community is 
that of manufacturing leather for foot wear. Just when, and under 
what circumstances, the art was introduced into Lancaster cannot 
now be satisfactorily determined. That hides were tanned at a very 
early date we know, and that there were men who made it a 
business at or before the beginning of this century. Lieut. Dennis 
Stanley, who came to Lancaster about 1777 or 1778, was a tanner. 
He dressed moose skins for clothing and tanned hides for leather. 
Following him were Asa Burnap, Jonas Batchelor, William Weeks 
Moore, and David Burnside. Burnside's tannery was in operation 
within the memory of many persons still living. It was on Elm 
street, where the creamery now stands, his dwelling adjoining the 
yard on the west. 

Shoemakers. — One among the first to be needed in a new settle- 
ment is the shoemaker. Some of the pioneer settlers of Lancaster 
were able to make shoes and moccasins, then called " moggasheens." 

Just previous to the beginning of this century there were a num- 
ber of shoemakers, who went from house to house, making up for 
the people the leather they had tanned from the skins of the animals 
used for food. 

In January, 1786, John Johnson made shoes for Gen. Edwards 
Bucknam three days, and received four shillings {66 2-3 cents). 

I have before me a bill of William Brown, shoemaker, against 
Gen. Edwards Bucknam, and reproduce it here in order that the 
present generation may see what the shoemaker's art could com- 
mand in wages nearly a century ago. 

"Edwards Bucknam, To William Brown, Dr. 

I- Sh. p. 

March 23, 1797. To Making one pr of boots for selt, ... 7 

To Making one pr shoes for Son gorg . 3 

To Foxing one pr shoes for Suesy ... 19 

To Soling and meneng one pr Shoes for gorg, i 3 

To Making one pr Shoes for Suesy ... 3 

May 13, 1797. To Mending one pr Boots for Self ... 9 

To one piece of Nankeen . . . . . 12 

To Making one pr shoes for son Edward . . 3 

Polly hartwell to Making one pr Shoes . . 3 

Wm. hartwell one pr Do ..... 3 

To Foxing one pr for Do ..... 19 

Received pay, Wm. Brown . . . £.1 15 6. 

July 3, 1797, By cash one Dollar ...... 6 " 

Two years later John Weeks was making shoes for General Buck- 
nam. From these dates on down into this century the leading 
shoemakers were: Josiah Smith, Samuel Hunnex, Samuel Went- 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 373 

worth, John Dow, Heber Blanchard, Coffin Moore, Orange Smith, 
Shepherd Knight, and others named elsewhere. 

The first stock of ready-made shoes offered in Lancaster was 
brought here by Hartford Sweet in 1846. Since then that class of 
goods has steadily and irresistibly reduced the shoemaker almost to 
a mender of shoes. Lancaster to-day, with over 5,000 population, 
has not as many shoemakers as it had when the population was only 
one tenth as large. 

Gunsmiths. — In the settlement of almost every community in 
New England, the gun was an indispensable instrument. If not 
called into use to defend the settler's home from savage Indians or 
jealous rivals seeking the conquest of territory for different rulers, 
it certainly was often relied upon to supply his table with meat. A 
family without a gun, in the first fifty years of the settlement of the 
town, was sadly handicapped in this respect. The first person to 
tinker guns and make them as a trade, was Isaac Darby, familiarly 
known as " Squire Darby," the miller. He attended the old Wilder 
mill, and while the grist was grinding mended the guns that were out 
of order, or perhaps worked upon a new one. It is said by some, 
still living, who used his guns, that they were of a very good qual- 
ity of workmanship. At all events they had an enviable reputation. 
" Squire Darby" could use a gun with deadly effect, if traditidn is 
to be relied upon. He was a noted hunter of bears, and many of 
them yielded to his deadly fire with one of his long guns. 

Another gunsmith of great notoriety was one Thomas Morse, a 
Pennsylvania Dutchman, who had his shop on Sand Hill, formerly 
the meeting-house common. He made many guns of a superior 
quality, which won for him fame that is not even now forgotten. It 
is said that the late Hiram A. Fletcher, at the time of his death, 
owned seventeen of the guns made by Morse, which he had picked 
up and held as relics of the past. 

Daniel T. Johnson ("Tiger" Johnson), who died in the military 
service during the Rebellion, was also a gunsmith. 

Furniture Manufacturing. — What kind of, and how much, fur- 
niture the first settlers had we are not quite sure, but that it was 
simple and scanty may well be imagined when we consider that 
they were more than fifty miles from any market where furniture 
could be purchased. Undoubtedly, some articles of a simple and 
rude quality must have been used by the first and second genera- 
tions of the town's inhabitants. None of such articles, however, are 
in existence to-day. Very early in the present century, tradition 
makes it about 18 14, Samuel Philbrook came to Lancaster, and 
located on Mill Brook, south of the village, on the road to South 
Lancaster, and began to manufacture furniture. He erected what 
was then called a " cabinet maker's shop," for the manufacture, on 



374 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

a pretty large scale, of chairs, tables, light-stands, bedsteads, and 
bureaus. Many of these articles are still in existence, and doing as 
good service as if just from some great modern factory. Walnut and 
wild cherry timber were very plenty in those days, and Mr. Phil- 
brook used it chiefly in the construction of his furniture. 

In 1820, Francis Bingham from Charlestown, N. H., located in 
the village for the manufacture of furniture. He opened a " cabinet- 
maker's shop " on Elm street, next west of where the Burnside house 
now stands. He conducted a very successful business there for 
many years. He sold out to Oliver W. Baker to take charge of the 
Fairbanks shops at St. Johnsbury, Vt. Mr. Baker continued the 
business for some time. 

At a later date Orville E. Freeman and Anderson J. Marshall 
conducted furniture manufacturing successfully for a number of }'ears. 
Harvey Nutting and Samuel W. Brown had a furniture factory in the 
second story of the foundry building on Middle street for a number 
of years, in which they were successful manfacturers. Some articles 
of all these factories are yet to be seen in the older families, and in 
garrets, where they have been doomed to lie neglected for newer 
styles that have taken their place. 

In 1867, N. H. Richardson and his brother, H. R., came to Lan- 
caster and bought out Nutting's interest in the starch factory on 
Canal street, which business they conducted until burnt out in the 
fire that destroyed the starch mill, peg mills, and other buildings. 
They later bought the old starch mill property on Water street. 
Here they did a good business, making a fine line of furniture 
that found a ready market. Mr. N. H. Richardson took W. R. 
Porter into partnership later. The firm of Richardson & Porter 
continued to do a good business until the fall of 1895, when they 
became heavily involved, and made an assignment. The property 
was bought up by Fred E. Richardson, a son of N. H. Richardson, 
and is now conducted by him. 

Eben C. Garland & Sons built a sawmill and furniture factory on 
Great Brook about 1865, for the manufacture of hard wood lumber, 
chairs, and casks for potato starch. They also used steam power, 
and for several years did a good business. Their mill was burned. 
They rebuilt, but their losses, and the building of the Kilkenny rail- 
road led to the speedy depletion of the tract of timber upon which 
they relied, and they finally failed. 

Piano Soimding-Boay'ds. — In 1850, John H. Spaulding built a 
sawmill in the eastern part of the town, just beyond the " Great 
Rock; " and after running it only a few years sold it to John M. 
Whipple, who converted it into a factor}' for making sounding- 
boards for pianos. The plant was a very good one for some years ; 
but Mr. Whipple finally gave his attention to the manufacture of 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 375 

hard wood sheathing, a business that has been a profitable one in 
this section of country. 

Blacksiniths. — Just at what time the first blacksmith established 
his shop in Lancaster is not known ; but tradition informs us that it 
was near the Holton place, at the north end of Main street. Col. 
Sylvanus Chessman was for many years the only blacksmith of the 
town, and for many more years the leading one. In those days the 
blacksmith's trade was a laborious one, and called for much more 
skill than it does to-day. His material was not so well prepared for 
him as it is for the blacksmith of to-day. He forged and turned his 
own horseshoes, made the nails to fasten them on with ; he made 
nails for the use of carpenters and joiners ; the axes, hoes, and plow- 
irons were in many instances of the local blacksmith's manufacture. 

Warren Porter was skilled in making edge tools. His sign 
was a broad axe, the symbol of his skill in the making of such im- 
portant implements. His shop was on Main street, nearly opposite 
his house. He followed Mr. Chessman. 

The next to follow that trade in town after Warren Porter were : 
Benjamin Bishop, Abel Porter, John Moore, Benjamin Adams, l./'' 
Harvey Adams, and Samuel Rines. Benjamin Adams had his shop 
on the Aaron Guernsey place, three miles below the village. He 
was noted for the excellent quality of hoes he made. He branched 
out on one occasion and distilled potato whiskey on a limited scale 
in addition to his trade. His whiskey never won him half the fame 
his hoes, shovels, and hay-forks did. 

Samuel Rines, whose shop stood where the J. A. Smith store 
building now does, was among the early village blacksmiths. For 
many years he conducted a shop on that site, and later became in- 
terested in a sawmill standing just east of where the grist-mill now 
is, on the north side of the river. He made a plow that won 
fame for him; abandoning his old stand, he erected a foundry 
and shop near the sawmill, and devoted much of his time to the 
manufacture of his plow. He purchased the land between Middle 
street and the river, including the mill site and the old mill-house 
which stood where William Clough's house now does, and built a 
large two-story factory, extending from Middle street to the water. 
In the end next the street, on the first floor, he established his foun- 
dry, the first one in Lancaster. In the other end of the building, 
on the same floor, he set up lathes, planers, and other tools and 
machinery. Here he did business for many years under the firm 
name of S. & W. M. Rines. Webster M. Rines was his son, and 
afterwards ran a sanitarium in Delaware, where he died recently. 
The firm made great numbers of the celebrated plows, which found 
ready market far and near. Some of the older farmers now living 
remember the plow, and speak of it as a fine implement. This 



1^6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

shop was succeeded by J. I. Williams & Co., and Thompson, Wil- 
liams & Co., predecessors of the Thompson Manufacturing Co. 

Harvey Adams had shops at various places about the village, but 
while running his shop on the south side of the river, near the old 
carding- and fulling-mills, he did his most successful business as a 
blacksmith. He is still remembered by the older citizens as a good 
workman and a good citizen. His blacksmithing was of a general 
range, making and mending all sorts of things. This stand has 
been occupied by a smithy ever since he established his there, 
replacing an old pot and pearl ashery. Mr. Adams later became 
a wagon maker, and will be mentioned again as such. Since his time 
there have always been from two to three shops in the village, 
but the character of the work now done in blacksmith shops does 
not rank them among manufacturies. 

Wagon Alakers and Wheehvrights. — Abijah Darby was the 
pioneer wagon maker of the town. He followed the business for 
many years, making carts and wagons ; he did repairing also. He 
also made the famous " Portland sleighs," at one time the most aris- 
tocratic vehicle in use in this land of long winters and fine sleighing. 
The business in the hands of Mr. Darby became an important indus- 
try. When he reached an advanced age he sold out to Levi Wil- 
lard, Jr., in 1822, who was for a long time the leading wagon maker 
of the town, extending the business to a wider range of vehicles 
than Darby had made. 

In 1830 Stephen Hadley opened a shop as a wheelwright on the 
site of Samuel White's old pearl ashery, where the Monahan shop 
now stands. He conducted a fairly successful business there for ten 
years, selling out to Frederick Fisk in 1841, who did business here 
for only a short time when he was succeeded by Harvey Adams, 
the blacksmith before mentioned. Mr. Adams manufactured 
wagons, sleighs, hoes, and hay forks, and would have been very 
successful had it not been foK repeated fires and freshets that ravaged 
his shops. He lost heavily from those sources. In those days 
much of the water of Isreals river, in times of freshets, came 
down the old channel between Mechanic street and the hill south of 
it and entered the main stream between Mr. Adams's shop and the 
bridge. He was thus badly exposed, and consequently lost much 
from that source. He was finally compelled to relinquish the busi- 
ness. 

About this time one Edward Dufoe, a noted violinist and favorite 
at all the dances of the region, who had married into the Stanley 
family of the town, had a shop on Main street, where the lawn of 
George Van Dyke now is, in which he made wagons and carriages. 
He was the first carriage maker to make use of the eliptical springs 
on his vehicles. Previous to that time the only spring in use was 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 377 

what was called the "thorough brace;" the device of leather had its 
day, doing good service, no doubt, but destined to yield to progres- 
sive ideas of comfort. 

In 1840 James W. Weeks entered into partnership with Ashbel 
Pierce, an experienced workman from Claremont, N. H., for the 
manufacture of wagons and buggies. They located on the site now 
occupied by the large store building of L. F. Moore on Middle 
street. After some three or four years, not finding the business a 
paying one, Mr. Weeks bought out his partner and closed the fac- 
tory, with the exception of keeping one or two men on repair work. 
In 1847 he sold the stand to the late Anderson J. Marshall, who 
made it profitable. In 1852 it was destroyed by fire. He rebuilt 
the factory on a larger scale, and continued to do a thriving bus- 
iness until his retirement from active life. The plant was continued 
by Antipas P. Marshall, his son, and George R. Eaton, doing good 
work, but on declining profits, as they had to compete with larger 
factories that were then flooding the country. They had to discon- 
tinue the business after a short time, and the old factory stood idle 
until 1895, when it was pulled down and replaced by one of the 
largest and best appointed store buildings in northern New Eng- 
land — L. F. Moore's hardware store. 

Later, Parcher Brothers sold carriages and sleighs here. . Beyond 
repair work there is little done in the trade of the wagon maker or 
carriage maker in Lancaster to-day. 

Clocks. — It is a matter of curious interest that Lancaster once 
had in its bounds a real, live Yankee clockmaker who for a time 
did a good business. At the beginning of this century Yankee 
genius ran to clocks as naturally as ducks take to water. Nearly 
every New England village of any prominence about that time had 
a clock factory in it. One Samuel Wright located here in 1808, 
for the manufacture of clocks, and we are informed by tradition that 
he did well for some years, until the larger factories using machinery 
could produce and sell cheaper clocks than he could make by hand. 
The business soon gave way to the regular trade, as at present con- 
ducted by the so-called watchmaker and jeweler, who are rather 
repairers of such articles than makers of them. John W. Williard 
opened a watchmaker's shop in 1825, which he conducted for some 
years. William Purington was the next to follow the business in 
town. He worked in a little yellow shop standing on the lot now 
occupied by the residence of the late Charles E. Allen, as early as 
1837. His house is now standing on Cemetery street near the Bos- 
ton & Maine railroad depot, on the south side of the street. It has 
been somewhat remodeled, but is in outline the same as when Pur- 
ington occupied it. 

After Purington, Charles B. Allen, — who succeeded him and who 



378 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

bought his shop, then standing on the site of Eagle block, — George 
A. Martin, Charles E. Allen, W. I. Hatch, J. M. Kimball, Whitcomb 
Brothers, and Charles Morse hav^e been in the business. Mr. Hatch, 
the Whitcomb Brothers, and Morse are now in trade here, carrying 
large stocks of goods and doing repair work. Others have, for brief 
periods, followed this line ; but these named have been the chief 
representatives of the watchmakers' and jewelers' craft in Lancas- 
ter. 

Harness Makers and Saddlers. — It was not until about 1808 that 
Lancaster became large enough to present attractions to saddlers 
and harness makers to locate here. In that year Jonathan Carleton 
opened a saddler's shop in the village, and for a number of years 
conducted the business with reasonable success for a small com- 
munity. 

The next person to engage in this work in Lancaster was Allen 
Smith. He was from Hanover, N. H., but learned his trade in Ha- 
verhill, N. H. On the breaking out of the War of 1812 he enlisted 
as a drummer, serving the term of that war faithfully. On being 
discharged he came at once to Lancaster and opened a shop on the 
site now the lawn of the stone house owned by I. W. Hopkinson 
on Main street. He married Adaline, daughter of Daniel Perkins, 
and lived for many years where Odd Fellows' block now is. He was 
a zealous Methodist, and his house was the home of the itinerant 
preachers of that sect. 

The next person to open a shop here was Horace Whitcomb, 
who long years was a harness maker of prominence in town. He 
came here from Newbury, Vt., was at one time colonel of the 
regiment, and always active in the affairs of the Congregational 
church. His first shop was near the north end of the Stockwell 
bridge, by the Lancaster National bank, and later on Middle street 
next east of Richardson block; his home is still standing next east 
of Masonic Temple on Mechanic street. 

Later Charles F. Colby did work for some years. For a number 
of years Charles Howe, who succeeded his father, Charles Howe, 
who came from Concord, Vt, has been the leading harness maker, 
doing well since 1866. For several years A. E. Stratton conducted 
a harness maker's shop on Middle street, but on account of poor 
health gave up business in the winter of 1895, ^"^ died the follow- 
ing July. 

Hatters. — During the first half of this century hats were made in 
almost every village of any size throughout the country. Lancaster 
had a succession of prominent and skilled hatters during that time. 
The first to follow that trade in town was Frederick Messer, who 
made his own felts from lamb's wool or furs, shaped and finished 
them ready for the market. Messer's shop stood very nearly in 





Allen Smith. 



Joseph Farnham. 





John Staluird. 



Alonzo p. Freeman. 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 379 

Main street, in front of James McCarten's blacksmith shop, on what 
is now the corner of Main and Mechanic streets. Here at the foot 
of the steep hill, up which ran the wooden stairs to the plain upon 
which the old meeting-house stood, he made hats for many years. 

The next hatter was Ephraim Cross, followed by Isaac B. Gorham. 
Their shop was located near the north end of Stockwell's bridge over 
Isreals river, in a building on the site of the present Colby block. 
Here Gorham long followed his trade. I find his illustrated adver- 
tisement in the first issue of the White Mountain ySgis, published on 
May 22, 1838, in which he returns thanks to his patrons for their 
trade for three preceding years, from which we learn that he was 
established here as early as 1835. The styles are gorgeous, judg- 
ing from the cuts that accompany the offer of his wares. He built 
the house next south of the Methodist church on Main street, about 
1839. Ephraim Cross carried on the business later in a shop on his 
own lot near the corner of Main and High streets for some years. 
Hats began to find their way into the regular channels of trade 
about 1840. As factories arose throughout the country and made 
cheap and stylish hats, they gradually forced the oldtime hatter to 
the wall. 

Gi'ist-mills and Sazvmills. — One of the most interesting chap- 
ters in the history of the town is that concerning its mills. When 
the town was laid out, the water privileges on Isreals river were re- 
served as public property. The letting of them for building mills 
has therefore become a matter of public record. Their history is a 
part of the public acts of the town. 

The first settlers had to bring their flour and meal from Haver- 
hill, N. H., or subsist upon " samp," which was simply coarsely 
broken corn. Every family had its " samp mortar and pestle," 
mounted in or near the house. This device consisted of a log of 
wood about three feet long, hollowed out at one end in the shape of 
a mortar, into which the corn, or whatever else was to be " ground" 
and cracked by a pestle, worked either by hand or mounted on a 
spring pole. This only broke the grain into coarse fragments, 
somewhat like hominy; but it remained for a long time the chief 
food of the settlers, even after mills were in operation. 

The first mill of any pretensions was run by horse power; but it 
was a failure, and was soon abandoned. 

To David Page belongs the credit of building the first mill and 
sawmill in the town. As early as 1766, only two years after the 
settling of the town, money was voted for building a mill on Isreals 
river, but probably the sum was so small as to discourage anyone 
from undertaking the task. At all events, no mill was then built on 
the river. David Page built, on his own account, a grist-mill and 
sawmill on Indian brook, just back of the Thomas Hicks place, tak- 



3 So HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ing advantage of an old beaver dam as affording the cheapest and 
best water power. These mills were erected in 1770, and were de- 
stroyed by fire in a few years. Tradition says that he rebuilt them, 
and that they were burned a second time ; but of this I can find no 
proof. There is in existence, and I have it before me, a memoran- 
dum of appropriations by the town while Gen. Edwards Bucknam 
was town clerk. It is in his handwriting, and must be regarded as 
genuine. This memorandum says that the town voted to pay David 
Page thirty pounds to rebuild a mill that was burned. It is supposed, 
therefore, that it applied to the second mills. David Page gave 
Edwards Bucknam, " collector for the proprietors of Lancaster," a 
receipt for sixty-six pounds lawful money paid to him June 13, 
1775, for mills he had built. These must have been the second 
mills on Indian brook, and the money voted as an indemnity to 
cover losses sustained in his efforts to serve the public, for at a 
town-meeting held at the house of Edwards Bucknam June 8, 1773, it 
was voted to raise eighty-six pounds for mills on Isreals river. This 
appropriation was paid to David Page, Oct. 19, 1778, the receipt for 
which is before me. The mills for which this money was paid were 
on the south branch of Isreals river, running at that time at the 
foot of Sand hill, and forming an island of the high ground along 
Mechanic street, later known as Chessman's island. Page's mills on 
Isreals river stood just back of the dwelling-house of John Palmer. 
Tradition, confirmed by indications, say that at that time this south- 
ern channel of the river was the larger of the two. This mill was 
so far an assured matter on April 17, 1773, that David Page leased 
it to Hezekiah Fuller, the articles of agreement of which lease are 
before me. It was signed by Page in his remarkably poor and pe- 
culiar handwriting, and Fuller made his mark to his name written 
in the handwriting of Timothy Nash, Jr., who was one of the wit- 
nesses, Samuel Page being the other one. As is seen, the eighty- 
six pounds were not appropriated until on the thirteenth of the June 
following this transaction ; nor was the money paid until more than 
three years later. This was owing, no doubt, to the fact that the 
non-resident taxpayers failed to pay their taxes. Edwards Buck- 
nam, collector, notified them that if they did not pay up, their lands 
would be advertised for sale in the Nezv Hampshire Gazette on 
the tax of Aug. 10, 1774, to pay David Page for rebuilding the 
mills on Indian brook, and the tax of June 8, 1773, to pay Page for 
rebuilding on Isreals river. 

This mill of Page's on Isreals river must have been a poorly con- 
structed one, especially its dam, for we find Page and Fuller appeal- 
ing for help to rebuild the dam on Sept. 8, 1777. There is a tradi- 
tion that this mill was burned ; but I can find no confirmation of it. 
The mill was either destroyed or fell into decay at an early date. 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 38 I 

Remnants of the mill and dam existed within the memory of several 
old men with whom I conversed in regard to it. 

77/1? Wilder Mills. — Major Jonas Wilder, a man of considerable 
wealth for those days, came to Lancaster in 1778. He was public- 
spirited, and full of enterprise. In 1781 he built a grist-mill and 
sawmill on Isreals river just above the granite works of V. V. Whit- 
ney. These mills were in operation for a long time, doing a suc- 
cessful business. Here Squire Darby tended mill for many a 
year. He is still remembered by some of the oldest men as a 
genial and ingenious man. 

This mill of Wilder's underwent extensive repairs in 181 7, and 
after that time was known as the "Wesson mill." The residence of 
the miller, called "The Mill House," stood on the site of the tracks 
of the Maine Central railroad near Middle street. Near where the 
present railroad track runs there was a steep road down to the mills. 
The mills fell into decay some fifty years ago, and have passed 
away, leaving not a vestige of their remains to mark the spot on 
which they once served this community so well. 

Brozuns Alills. — The next public action taken by the town con- 
cerning mills was at the annual town-meeting, March 13, 1792, 
when a committee, consisting of Lieut. Emmons Stockwell, Capt. 
David Page, Col. Edwards Bucknam, Capt. John Weeks, and Lieut 
Dennis Stanley, was chosen " to receive proposals of any gentleman 
concerning building mills on Isreals river near Stockwell's bridge." 
Page's mills had been built for nineteen years, and must have been 
destroyed or fallen into decay at this time, else Page would not very 
likely have been put on the committee to let the privilege of build- 
ing other mills in competition with his own and Wilder's. 

I have before me a proposition, in writing, from Titus O. Brown, 
in which he offers to "build a sawmill and grist-mill, and furnish 
good attendance and keep them in good repair, on condition that 
the town lease to him, his heirs and assigns, for the term of nine 
hundred years such quantity of the common lands, on Isreals river, 
and land under the river; also the waters of the same as shall be 
sufficient to build a mill and mill-yards, and also a road to the said 
mill privilege for and during said term of nine hundred years; he, 
the said Brown, paying to the selectmen of the town of Lancaster 
yearly one ear of Indian corn, annually, if demanded." This pro- 
posal bears date of March 20, 1792. 

It seems that the committee did not see fit to accept it ; but 
instead leased the privilege to Emmons Stockwell on May 7, 1792. 
I have the lease before me written in the hand of Capt. John Weeks, 
and signed by Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam, John Weeks, 
David Page, and Dennis Stanley, " Committee of the Town of Lan- 
caster," and witnessed by Zerubabel Eager and Stephen Wilson. 



382 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

On the next day, May 8, 1792, Emmons Stockwell re-leased this 
privilege to Titus O. Brown on the exact terms that he received it, 
except that he retained the right to erect iron works and take water 
from the same dam that Brown bound himself to build, where 
the present dam of Frank Smith & Co.'s mill now is. The rental in 
both the lease and the re-lease was a pint of wheat annually when 
called for by the selectmen, and the rentals were decreed to be for 
the benefit of schools. I have before me a copy of this re-lease to 
Brown by Stockwell in the hand of Samuel Brooks, recorder for 
Grafton county. 

By the terms of the lease to Stockwell the mills — a sawmill, grist- 
mill, and a fulling-mill — were to be located between Stockwell's 
bridge and the old mills (Wilder's). Brown undertook to build a 
sawmill by the first day of December, 1792, and a grist-mill "with 
a good bolt," by the first day of December, 1793, and a fulling-mill 
by the first day of December, 1794. He built the sawmill on the site 
of the new block of Frank Smith & Co. ( 1 898 ) . He made an arrange- 
ment with Richard C. Everett by which the latter built a large grist- 
mill 100 feet long and three stories high, in which there was run a 
carding and fulling-mill. This mill building was very nearly on the 
site of the present grist-mill. It was burnt some time previous to 
1800, and was rebuilt by Titus O. Brown on the same site. A mill 
house (miller's residence) stood about where the National Bank 
building now does. This second mill was also burnt in 18 19. 
Another, and a much better, mill was erected, and a mill house 
built on the south side of Middle street about where William Clough's 
residence now stands. David Greenlief, the noted miller, is still 
remembered by some of the older men who were then boys. Mr. 
Greenlief had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was a 
man full of reminiscences that pleased his customers to hear while 
waiting for their grists to be ground, for in those days people took 
their grists to the mill in a bag thrown across the back of a horse, 
on top of which they rode, and waited for the grain to be ground 
and took it home in the same way. The interval of waiting was 
often filled by an entertaining bit of story-telling by the miller. 
This old mill gave place in 1830 to one of a much better kind, built 
by Dr. John Dewey, in which the then most improved machinery 
was used. 

After the second mills on this site were burned, the carding and 
fulling-mills were built on the south side of the river. As the iron 
works were not erected, the contemplated space saved for them was 
given up to fulling-mills and other purposes. An " up and down " 
sawmill ran for many years between the dam and the iron works. 
The finding of bog ore on the Beaver brook and Connecticut river 
meadow lands filled the fancy of some of the early settlers with 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 383 

visions of an iron furnace, that should supply them with enough of 
that indispensable metal for their own use, at least, if no more ; but 
it never came to anything. 

From this time onward to the present, this dam and the sites on 
both sides of the river have been occupied by various persons for 
mill purposes. Among those who have owned mill privileges on 
these sites have been : Titus O. Brown, Ephraim and Liberty Stock- 
well, John Mclntire, Richard Eastman, Moses T. Hunt, Thomas 
Carlisle, Joseph C. Cady, Isaac and Samuel Pearson, John Dewey, 
Emmons Stockwell, Jr., Sylvanus Chessman, John Moore, Peter 
Paddleford, Levi Willard, Philip Paddleford, Reuben Stephenson, 
John W. Weeks, J. W. Williams, Oliver Frost, S. and W. M. Rines^ 
O. E. Freeman, Geo. A. Goodrich, J. L Williams, Thompson, Wil- 
Hams & Co., Hovey & Bullard, A. W. Morrill, Ellis & Olcott, Smith, 
Hodge & Bullard, and Frank Smith & Co., the present owners. 
Several others may have had, and no doubt did at times own, inter- 
ests in these mills and privileges, but these named were the chief 
Owners of them for 104 years. 

Other Sawmills in Lancaster. — About 1823, or 1824, Major 
Joel Hemmenway built what was known as the Hemmenway mills 
on Otter brook, at what is now called the Grange Village, occupy- 
ing the site on which Amadon & Co.'s mills now stand. He also 
built the house owned and occupied by George Wood. His mill 
did a good business for many years, sharing the patronage of the 
town with Stockwell's sawmill in the village. 

Later John Lang built a sawmill on the outlet of little Martin 
Meadow pond on the Whitefield road, which cut lumber for some 
years. Eben C. Garland & Sons built a sawmill on Great brook 
where Edward C. Grannis now lives. 

Quite an effort was made in the early '70's to build up a village 
at South Lancaster. A bridge had been thrown across the Con- 
necticut, connecting with Lunenburg, one mile from the village of 
that name. Lewis Barter of Concord erected a wholesale grain and 
flour store near the tracks of the B., C. & M. railroad, and other 
enterprises were started there. 

In 1873 John H. Locke, until then an inn keeper at Hillsborough 
Bridge, for many years until recently connected with George Van 
Dyke in lumber operations, built for a Concord corporation whose 
principal members were Joseph A. Dodge, superintendent of the rail- 
road; George Clough, retired conductor and capitalist; George A. 
Pillsbury, now of the great flouring mills of Minneapolis ; Stephen A. 
Brown of Hillsborough, et als., a large steam sawmill at this point 
and equipped the river with booms and piers. 

This mill after several years was leased to George Van Dyke at 
the commencement of his business career, arid after he had run it 



384 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

for a while to D. H. and T. G. Beattie who were operating it when 
it burned. 

Since the burning of the mill, business has departed from South 
Lancaster, only a cheese factory remaining. 

About the same time Allen and Hilliard had a steam sawmill 
on the same stream a mile south of the village, capable of cutting 
nearly as much lumber as the South Lancaster mills. This only 
existed a short time. One Goodrich had a steam mill on the 
plain opposite the Baker pond whence it drew its logs. 

For fully fifty years the first sawmills only cut boards and plank 
by the old upright saws. A few of these were in use for a longer 
time ; but the circular saw began to be used forty years ago. The 
choice pine with w^hich this section abounded was ripped into great 
planks an inch or more thick, and often over thirty inches wide. 
These were dressed by hand planes, the uneven marks of which 
are to be seen on some of the boards that have been in old build- 
ings for over a century. I have taken the measure of many boards 
over thirty inches wide in old houses. This history has been written 
on a table, the top of which is a single board taken out of the walls 
of the " Cross house " on the corner of Main and High streets, built 
by Col. R. C. Everett over a century ago. 

Lathes were not made then as now. They consisted of thin, wide 
half-inch boards which were split, or rather splintered, with an axe, 
and, as they were being nailed on the walls, separated by a wedge 
until the nails were driven, affording spaces for the mortar to hold 
to. Shingles were not sawed, but split or riven, here for many 
years. About 1830 the method of cutting them from steamed 
blocks by means of a lathe was introduced, and was considered 
quite an innovation. About a decade later the method of sawing 
them by means of a circular saw came into use, and prevailed as 
long as there was suitable timber left for shingles. There are now 
but few made for lack of timber suitable for that use. 

About 1850 the present method of manufacturing clapboards was 
introduced in Lancaster. The first clapboards were of equal thick- 
ness on both edges, and of varying widths. 

The first grist-mills were simple and primitive in their construc- 
tion. One Caleb Young and Peter Blanchard made millstones and 
mill machinery here and in Northumberland. 

Since Dr. John Dewey introduced modern and improved machin- 
ery into his mill, grist-mills have kept pace with the advances in 
industry, and have had good machinery. The grist-mill and saw- 
mill of to-day do first-class work in their respective lines. 

Sas/i, Door, atid Blind Facto7'ies. — The first person to make 
any extensive and successful attempt at manufacturing sash, doors, 
and blinds in Lancaster, was the late Nicholas B. Wilson, who came 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 385 

here in 1850, and worked several years for Col. O. E. Freeman; 
and later went into business on his own account, occupying the site 
and buildings previously used by Harvey Adams in the manufacture 
of wagons, and sleighs, just west of where the Monahan blacksmith 
shop now is. Mr. Wilson did a good business until 1886, when by 
high water he lost his factory and much valuable machinery. He 
was later succeeded by Leavitt & Hartford, who did a good business 
for some years. Since they retired this line of work has been car- 
ried on extensively by the Thompson Manufacturing Company. 
During the year 1894, Frank Smith & Co. erected a sash, door, 
and blind factory, and planing-mill in connection with their lumber 
business, and have for two years past done a considerable amount of 
that kind of work. 

Strazvboard and Paper Mills. — In 1864, the town, at a spe- 
cial meeting, voted to lease to K. B. Fletcher & Co., for the nominal 
rental of one dollar a year, in perpetuity, the water of Isreals river 
and its bed, and the lands on both sides of the stream, as given by 
the original proprietors to the town, in consideration that the lessees 
should erect a strawboard mill, or other manufacturing concern of 
equal importance to the town. This company consisted of K. B. 
Fletcher, Edmund Brown, Henry O. Kent, Jason H. Woodward, 
J. W. Spaulding, Charles W. Roby, Frank Smith, and Charles E. 
Allen. Steps were taken by the company to organize and begin 
business on receiving their lease. Buildings were commenced, and 
a canal cut to its dam. 

In 1855, by special act of the legislature, a corporation under the 
name of the Lancaster Manufacturing Company had been chartered. 
The grantees of that charter were Jacob Benton, L. F. Moore, Ed- 
mund Brown, Jared I. Williams, William Burns, Harvey Adams, 
Royal Joyslin, B. F. Whidden, Joseph Roby, Frederick Fiske, Hart- 
ford Sweet, E. L. Colby, H. C. Walker, D. A. Burnside, J. E. Stick- 
ney, A. L. Robinson, Turner Stephenson, and Frank Smith. 

This corporation was " authorized to carry on the manufacture of 
such articles as are usually made of wool, cotton, wood, or timber; 
also of paper and woodenware, in all the various departments con- 
nected with such manufactures, in the town of Lancaster, county of 
Coos, New Hampshire." 

This corporation had not organized, and its valuable franchise 
was unused for a period of nine years ; and then it conveyed its 
franchise to K. B. Fletcher & Co. The incorporators met in the office 
of Henry O. Kent, March 25, 1865, for the first time upon a regu- 
larly issued call, and organized temporarily, by the election of L. F. 
Moore, president, and Frank Smith, clerk. Henry O. Kent, Jason 
H. Woodward, John W. Spaulding, C. W. Roby, and Charles E. 
Allen, of the K. B. Fletcher & Co. firm, were elected associates in 
25 



386 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the benefits of the charter. It was next voted to allow all the origi- 
nal grantees of the charter to withdraw from the corporation except 
Edmund Brown and Frank Smith, which they did do. 

The corporation then voted to adopt the act of incorporation, and 
also a set of by-laws for its government, and adjourned the meet- 
ing to March 29, 1865, at which meeting the organization was 
completed by the election of J. W. Spaulding, agent; Henry O. 
Kent, clerk; Charles E. Allen, treasurer. 

The stock was fixed at 240 shares of $100 each, and was taken 
as follows: Edmund Brown, 30; Henry O.Kent, 30; Jason H. 
Woodward, 40; J. W. Spaulding, 40; Charles W. Roby, 40 ; F. 
Smith, 30; C. E. Allen, 15 ; Isaac F. Allen, 15. 

This gave the projectors of the K. B. Fletcher & Co. firm the 
rights and title of the Lancaster Manufacturing Company. The real 
estate of the former firm was transferred to the latter company; 
and the new company completed the factory, and at once began the 
manufacture of strawboard. This was for a number of years a 
very important industry for the community, as it afforded the farm- 
ers a good market for the product of their farms, and gave employ- 
ment to a number of people at good wages. 

The company paid as high as from five to ten dollars a ton for 
oat and rye straw, and consumed annually about five hundred cords 
of wood for fuel. The community was well served by the business, 
but its projectors had to wait until 1870 for their first dividend, 
which was only a ten per cent. one. They had spent much of the 
earnings of the factory on its equipment with the best of machinery. 
Their product was good and prices fair; but just at that time the 
country began to be flooded with strawboard, and with declining 
prices and high freight rates the business soon became an unprofit- 
able one. When the returns for its product were so low as not to 
allow the manufacture longer, it was decided to change to straw and 
manilla wrapping-papers. This course was wise and profitable, as 
the company made good profits for a time. After a while the intro- 
duction of wood pulp and active competition drove the prices 
down ; and although the company made a good article, freights 
being against them, and in favor of mills nearer the market, their 
profits dwindled again, so that it became necessary to increase the 
capital stock of the company $12,000, making their working cap- 
ital now $36,000. Soon the stockholders were assessed on their 
stock to keep the mill running. About 1867, S. H. LeGro became 
a stockholder, and as agent and treasurer of the company proved 
a valuable member. He was a careful and persistent man, who 
always succeeded in his undertakings, and in whom all who knew 
him had perfect confidence. 

It was finally decided, in 1879, after a thorough trial of its pros- 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 387 

pects, to close the mill. S. H. LeGro and Henry O. Kent took 
the entire stock and met the company's indebtedness. They paid up 
all claims, and sold the mills, machinery, and stock on hand to 
Thomas M. Stevens of Boston, Mass., for $20,000, taking in pay- 
ment for the same Stevens's equity in two apartment hotels in 
Boston, Mass. In this sale only the property of the corporation 
was transferred to Stevens, Messrs. LeGro and Kent retaining and 
still owning the stock and rights granted by the charter. The 
shares have been reduced to twenty, and the Lancaster Manufac- 
turing Company still exists with a capital of $2,000. At its last 
annual meeting Mr. S. H. LeGro (now deceased) was president, 
and Henry O. Kent, secretary and treasurer. 

Stai'ch Factories. — The manufacture of potato starch was intro- 
duced here by Frederick Fisk and John M. Tillotson, several years 
before the war. They built and conducted a factory or mill on the 
site of N. H. Richardson's furniture shop, on Water street, and were 
very successful in the business for some years, the industry proving 
a valuable one for the community as it afforded a good market 
for its surplus of potatoes, and also used up potatoes otherwise 
unmarketable, at fair prices, largely the huge "California" pota- 
toes at twelve and one half cents per bushel. Other factories soon 
started up all over New England, the market became over- 
stocked, and prices went so low as to make the business a poor one. 
Many of the new mills made a poor grade of starch, used larger 
quantities of potatoes to the ton than formerly, and the " potato 
rot " broke out, which taken altogether reduced the w^ork to a 
poor venture. It gradually declined in Lancaster, the railroads so 
appreciating the price of potatoes for market as to make the man- 
ufacture unprofitable. 

The Lancaster Starch Company was the chief sufferer in this 
manufacture. It was a joint stock company of forty shares, of one 
hundred dollars each. It purchased land and water power where 
the Thompson Manufacturing Company buildings now stand. This 
company sought to monopolize the business in this section by buy- 
ing out the Fisk and Tillotson mills, of Benjamin H. Plaisted of 
Jefferson, and by offering fifty cents a bushel for potatoes when 
other factories were buying them for from thirty-two to thirty-five 
cents. Others unloaded their stock of potatoes upon the Lan- 
caster Starch Company, which took in one season fifty thousand 
bushels, and by their freezing and rotting lost a large portion of 
them. And then it took four hundred bushels of potatoes, by 
their processes, to make a ton of starch while other factories re- 
quired only from one hundred and eighty to two hundred and fifty 
bushels to the ton. It was not at first understood that the higher 
grades of potatoes contained the most starch. Panic spread among 



388 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the stockholders, some of whom got rid of their stock at ahnost any 
figure to avoid liabihty in the ruin they foresaw. A fire destroyed 
their factory on Canal street, February 7, 1869, together with the 
peg mill of L. F. Moore and the furniture factory of the Richard- 
sons. Added to this heavy loss were the many lawsuits that fol- 
lowed, which consumed the capital of the company, and left it still 
heavily involved in debt. There were many heavy losers among 
our best farmers, but the heaviest was the late William D. Weeks, 
one of Lancaster's most honorable men. He might have saved 
himself by alienating his stock ; but he was hopeful of being able to 
close up the business without complete loss, and save the credit of 
himself and associates. It has ever been the pride of Lancaster 
business men of the old stock, that in all business enterprises involv- 
ing risks their creditors must not suffer by the failure of their ven- 
tures. Many of the business enterprises of that class of men have 
failed, and they have lost heavily, but their creditors have almost 
invariably been paid to the last penny of their just claims. 

Pleasant Valley Starch Company. — On October 19, 1868, 
several farmers from Northumberland and Lancaster met at the 
Great Rock schoolhouse in district No. 15, and organized a com- 
pany for the manufacture of potato starch. A site for a mill was 
purchased of James Bain, and it was voted to erect the mill at once. 
The ofificers elected were: J. C. Marshall, president ; Moody P. Mar- 
shall, secretary; James Bain, treasurer. 

James Bain, Moody Marshall, and Zeb. Twitchell were elected a 
committee to erect the buildings of the company. They employed 
Moses Woodward to superintend the construction of the mill, he 
having had considerable experience in the business of manufactur- 
ing starch. There was raised the sum of $300 to expend on the 
mill; and the meeting adjourned until October 31, 1868, when a 
constitution and by-laws were adopted, which required as ofificers a 
president, a secretary, a general managing agent, these to constitute 
a board of managers. 

The original shareholders were Robert Jaques, i ; Moody P. 
Marshall, 5 ; James Bain, 2 ; John W. Savage, 5 ; Patrick Connary, 
3 ; Charles Montgomery, i ; Thomas Jaques, 3 ; William G. Ellis, 
I ; Thomas S. Ellis, i ; John Farnham, 3 ; Zeb. Twitchell, 2 ; 
George Farnham, 2 ; Ransom Farnham, i ; Abiathar Twitchell, i ; 
Edward Fox, 2 ; Zebulon Black, i ; Charles Lee, i ; Thomas H. 
Sheridan, i ; Stephen Hartford, 3 ; William Osborn, i ; Isaac F. 
Cotton, 2 ; George Cummings, 2 ; Samuel J. Gerrish, 2. 

The mill of the company was completed in due time, and the 
manufacture of starch was carried on for a number of years with 
varied success. For a while the prices kept up pretty well, and good 
returns were secured for the product. The owners began, after some 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 389 

years, to sell their shares with which to pay debts, or else to get 
happily rid of a venture in which they could see but slight hopes of 
future gains. Most of the shares came into the possession of Col. 
H. O. Kent and Mr. J. A. Smith, the one a successful financier and 
the other a successful merchant. From 1871 they had complete 
control of the factory, and by careful management made some 
money for themselves and kept a better market for the farmers' 
potato crop. For twelve years they kept the mill going; but the 
time came when even they could make nothing out of it, and finally 
were forced to close it to avoid losses. In 1883 it was closed and 
some of the property sold. Mr. Kent and the heirs of Mr. J. A. 
Smith still own the mill and water privilege on Caleb brook. 

James W. Weeks ran a starch mill successfully for a series of years 
at Grange Village, and a good mill was long in operation on Mar- 
den brook, near the Jefferson line, on the East road. 

Pleasant Valley was the last mill in operation for the manufacture 
of starch in Lancaster. The business has since then been entirely 
given up as unprofitable in competition with larger producers in 
other sections of the country. While the lands of Lancaster are 
quite as productive as those of other sections of the country, it yet 
costs more to produce and market a crop of potatoes, as the more 
improved machinery cannot be used to any profitable extent. The 
work has, in the main, to be done by hand, which increases the ex- 
pense of the crop. The introduction of railroads, as said, also 
injured the starch business, as it enhanced the value of potatoes for 
the market above a price at which they could be profitably manu- 
factured. 

The Thompson Manufacturing Company . — In 1858, Jared I. 
Williams bought out S. & W. M. Rines, who were then running a 
foundry and manufacturing plows and other articles just east of the 
site of the mill and store of Frank Smith & Co. Mr. Williams con- 
ducted a profitable business here, using more improved machinery 
than the Rines firm did. The business was conducted under the 
firm name of J. I. Williams & Co., although Mr, Williams was the 
sole owner. The second story of the large building was used by 
Nutting & Brown with their furniture business, which was extensive. 
In 1865, Alexander and Daniel Thompson were admitted into the 
firm of Williams & Co. The Thompsons were men of great skill 
and ceaseless perseverance. They removed the plant of the Chase 
Foundry Company here from Concord, Vt., and consolidated it with 
the plant of the J. I. Williams machine shop and foundry. The 
new firm was styled Thompson, Williams & Co. This company did 
a good business. In 1869 it was incorporated as "The Lancaster 
Iron Works." Under this name it only existed one year, when the 
property was divided up. Williams took the foundry and the 



390 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Thompsons the machine shop. WilHams later sold the foundry to 
Richard Hovey and A. M. Bullard. They soon sold it to A. W. 
Morrill, who in turn sold it to W. H. Ellis and B. S. Alcott, and 
Williams took it back, and sold the personal property to Alex- 
ander Thompson and the real estate to Frank Smith & Co. The 
Thompsons continued to run the machine shop on Middle street until 
1873, when the shops were burned, making a total loss. They 
lost about $15,000; but being men of boundless courage they pur- 
chased the property of the lately collapsed Lancaster Starch Com- 
pany, on Canal street. Here Alexander Thompson laid the founda- 
tion of the present Thompson Manufacturing Company in the little 
one-story dry-house of the Starch Company, the only part of their 
plant that was not consumed in the fire. Thompson only pur- 
chased one half of the water power on that site. For the first year 
he occupied that one little building, 24x30 feet, which is still 
a part of the present shops. In enlarging the shops from time to 
time, they have built around this original building. After a hard 
struggle in building up his business, Mr. Thompson sold a half inter- 
est to K. B. Fletcher, Jr., and F. H. Twitchell, both of whom had 
been trained into skilful workmen under his watchful care. At this 
time the firm only employed three men. They were engaged in the 
manufacture of sawmill machinery, general jobbing, and steam fit- 
ting. Close attention to business and hard work improved it, so that 
the plant grew steadily into prominence, and yielded a good income. 

Alexander Thompson's health failed in the early spring of 1882, 
so he was forced to give up business the first of May. He died the 
following September. 

The surviving partners continued the business under the old firm 
name until May 7, 1884, when Thompson's interest was sold to 
William T. Jones, of Whitefield, N. H., and Charles H. Balch, of 
Lancaster. The name of the company was changed to " The 
Thompson Manufacturing Company." 

On May 21, 1888, the company bought out the door, sash, and 
blind factory of Leavett & Hartford, in an adjoining building, on 
the same water power. This they added to their former business, 
and have ever since made it a profitable industry. This factory also 
turns out a general line of builders' materials. 

C. H. Balch died May 18, 1889, and Ossian Ray and Joseph W. 
Flanders bought his interest in the company the following Septem- 
ber. 

In October. 1892, a consolidation was made with Charles W. 
Sleeper, of Island Pond, Vt., formerly of Coaticook, P. Q. By this 
arrangement the Thompson Manufacturing Company became the 
manufacturers of a machine, the invention of Mr. Sleeper, for the 
automatic construction of tin cans for meats and fruits. This is the 



MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES. 391 

only machine of the kind that takes sheet tin and cuts and makes a 
completed can automatically. The new company have found in Mr. 
Sleeper such a genius as the old one had in Alexander Thompson. 

In 1893 the private company formed a stock company, under the 
same name, with a capital of $50,000. It now employs about fifty 
men throughout the year. Of late years it has been devoting con- 
siderable attention to the manufacture of machinery for making 
wood pulp and paper. The company holds patents on these ma- 
chines, as also on a number of other inventions, tools, and devices. 

File Works. — We mention as an evidence of the enterprise and 
genius of the town, the fact that at one time there flourished a fac- 
tory in which were made a very good grade of files. It was located 
on Canal street, and conducted by Moody & Co., — George Moody 
and George E. Cave. Later it was owned and managed by Ellis 
& Olcott (Thomas S. Ellis and Barzillai S. Olcott). It was not 
destined to long survive, in competition with large factories turning 
out a larger product in a single day than it could in a year. Be- 
sides, it was not located near enough to the markets in which its 
material had to be bought, and those in which its products could 
find sale. 

The Diamond Granite Company . — For a number of years V. V. 
Whitney had conducted a private business in the manufacture of 
granite monuments in Lancaster; but in 1894, in order to further 
develop the business, he consolidated with that of an incorporated 
company under the name of "The Diamond Granite Company." 
Mr. Whitney had previously erected the extensive factory and sheds 
on Middle street for the accommodation of his work. This became 
the company's plant, and for a year extensive operations were car- 
ried on. A large force of men have been employed in both the 
quarry and factory most of the time for the last three years. Some 
very fine work has been turned out. They quarry the Kilkenny 
granite from their ledges, taken from the Kilkenny mountains, in the 
southern edge of the town of Northumberland. This granite, which 
exists in an inexhaustible quantity, comes to the surface and is eas- 
ily gotten. Its quality is very good, as is shown by analysis. It is 
a sienitic granite, of three shades, — dark green, bluish, and light 
gray. The most of it is of the greenish tint. Its specific gravity is 
2.707, which is .047 higher than the average of sienitic granites. It 
possesses a crushing resistance of 15,360 pounds to the square 
inch ; and its heat resisting power is great, making it a valuable 
stone for building and monumental purposes. 

Arthur G. Wilson & Company carry on an extensive business in 
marble and granite work, having a wide and valuable connection. 
Their new shops and salesrooms are on Elm street, opposite the 
Williams House, where very fine work is designed and completed. 



392 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

BANKS AND CORPORATIONS. 

The Lancaster Bank — The White Mountain Bank — The Lancaster Sav- 
ings Bank — The Lancaster National Bank— The Siwooganock Sav- 
ings Bank — The Lancaster Trust Company — The Lancaster Bridge 
Company — The Coos Mutual Fire Insurance Company — Agricultural 
Societies. 

THE BANKS OF LANCASTER. 

It was not until 1832 that the business interests of Lancaster 
demanded a bank. Up to that time business had followed the 
orderly course of development of a new community. Trade in the 
earliest times was chiefly " barter." Comparatively little money 
was used. The early merchants used the little ready money or 
credit they had to procure a stock of goods, and then sold it out, 
mostly for the produce of the farms, and the primitive manufac- 
tures like "pot and pearl ashes." These they shipped to the cities 
in payment of their purchases. Added to these were the furs and 
peltries they received of the hunters and trappers ; this trafBc, to 
a limited extent, still prevails here. Some very fine lots of furs and 
pelts are bought up by the traders of to-day which go through 
the same channels of exchange they did a hundred years ago. 

An early, and important, medium of exchange between a rural 
community like Lancaster fifty years ago was the "cattle drover." 
This important personage would come into town and purchase for 
ready cash large herds of stock from farmers, thus furnishing to the 
community a large amount of money to do business on. Some of 
the traders were more or less connected with this means of ex- 
change. This, in time, made a demand for a money exchange 
rather than supplying it, and a bank was the result. In 1832, 
business men began to feel the need of a bank and took steps to 
secure the establishment of one. 

A number of the most prominent merchants and citizens of means 
secured from the legislature a charter for a bank for twenty years. 
This institution was known as the Lancaster Bank. It began 
business July ist, 1833, in Gen. John Wilson's dwelling house at 
the north end of Main street, where the Benton residence now 
stands. Its incorporators were David Burnside, Benjamin Stephen- 
son, Turner Stephenson, Ephraim Cross, and Warren Porter. Its 
first president was John H, White, and Gen. John Wilson was cash- 
ier. The capital was $50,000. This capital was simply subscribed for 
and paid up in securities of one kind and another, and not wholly 
in cash before starting in business as is now the requirement of law. 



BANKS AND CORPORATIONS. 393 

On July 1st, 1835, the bank was moved to a room in what was 
known as the " Green store " standing where the Evans block now 
does on Main street near Isreals river bridge. This room corres- 
ponded to that now occupied by G. V. Moulton's shoe store, while 
R. P. Kent kept a store in the other end of the building. Mr. Kent 
was appointed cashier of the bank, a position he held for five years, 
when he resigned and was succeeded by Gen. John Wilson. This 
bank did a good business, and served the community faithfully for 
the period for which it was chartered. A few years before the ex- 
piration of its charter it lost heavily through the failure of its 
debtors, and did not ask for an extension of its charter, choosing 
rather to go out of business honorably, paying up its creditors, than 
to take risks in the future. It finally closed up its business in 1855, 
two years after the expiration of its charter, without the loss of a 
cent to any of its creditors. 

Royal Joyslin succeeded John H.White as president, and held 
that position throughout the existence of the bank. George A. 
Cositt succeeded General Wilson as cashier and held that position 
until the bank went out of business. 

The White Mountain Bank. — In 1852 another bank was char- 
tered under the name of " The White Mountain Bank," with a capi- 
tal of $50,000. Its first president was J. B. Sumner; G. C. Will- 
iams, cashier; directors, J. B. Sumner, Dalton ; Barton G. Towne, 
Hezekiah Parsons, Jr., Colebrook ; Moses Woodward, Jefferson; 
James W. Weeks, E. C. Spaulding, Lancaster; and Oliver B. Howe, 
Shelburne. 

This was a bank of issue, and did a good business for many years. 
Gov. J. W. Williams became president in 1858, and continued in 
that office until his death in 1864. William Burns succeeded Gov- 
ernor Williams, and Jared I. Williams was chosen cashier. In the 
redemption of notes, it was found that a former cashier had made 
an over issue of some $53,000 in notes, and had also sunk $40,000 
more of the funds of the bank. 

William Burns, J. I.Williams, J. W. Weeks, and Barton G. Towne 
settled up the affairs of the bank in a creditable manner, though 
some of its stockholders lost very heavily, especially the Governor 
Williams estate. 

The Lancaster Savings Bank. — This is the oldest bank now 
doing business in Lancaster. Its charter was procured by Col. 
Henry O. Kent in 1868. While serving as bank commissioner of 
the state he came to think that a savings bank could fill a useful 
place in Lancaster, and accordingly set about to establish one. It 
was organized July 29, 1868, as "The Savings Bank of the County 
of Coos." ' Its first trustees were H. A. Fletcher, R. P. Kent, Henry 
O. Kent, A. J. Marshall, B. F. Whidden, Edmund Brown, S. H. 



394 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

LeGro, J. I. Williams, L. F. Moore, C. W. Smith, E. Savage, and 
E. V. Cobleigh. 

In 1876, James W. Weeks, William Burns, Hosea Gray, A. Guern- 
sey, J. H. Hopkinson and J. H. Woodward were elected trustees. 
The first president was the late Hiram A. Fletcher, a man of large 
ability and unbending integrity, who held that position until July, 
1878, when failing health obliged him to retire. Anderson J. Mar- 
shall was elected as his successor, holding the position until his de- 
cease in 1883. He was succeeded by the late Richard P. Kent, who 
held the office from 1883 to 1885. James W. Weeks was elected in 
1885, and held the position until 1894, when he was succeeded by 
Samuel H. LeGro, and at his decease Dr. Ezra Mitchell, the present 
president, was elected. Col. H. O. Kent has been its treasurer from 
the organization of the bank. The management of this bank has 
been able and careful from the first, winning confidence and a large 
patronage from the community and people desirous of saving against 
their possible needs in the future. It now has assets of $609,282, 
as shown by its "statement of its condition June 30, 1896," with a 
surplus and guaranty fund of $33,233. 

Its place of business has always been in the Kent block, on Main 
street, where it has the finest appointed banking rooms in the county, 
with vaults of the most improved construction. The charter of the 
bank is perpetual, and it is a legal investment for trust funds. Its 
present officers are (1896) Ezra Mitchell, president; Henry O. 
Kent, secretary and treasurer; trustees, Henry O. Kent, Ezra Mitch- 
ell, Frank Jones, E. V. Cobleigh, Edward R. Kent, James H. Curtis, 
Charles A. Cleaveland, Henry Percy Kent, Stetson Ward Gushing, 
and Joseph D. Howe. 

The Lancaster JVational Dank. — This institution was incorpo- 
rated in 1 88 1, with a capital of $125,000. It began business in 
1882, in its present location with the following ofificers : 

George R. Eaton, president; Everett Fletcher, vice-president; 
Frank D. Hutchins, cashier. Board of directors: Ossian Ray, Geo. 
R. Eaton, William Clough, C. B. Jordan, A. J. Marshall, Everett 
Fletcher, Seneca S. Merrill, R. H. Porter, and H. O. Coolidge. 

This bank has done a large and successful business, and enjoys 
the full confidence of the community. Its surplus is $25,000. 

The first president and cashier are still in office. The following, 
among Lancaster's best business men, are its directors: 

George R. Eaton, Irving W. Drew, F. D. Hutchins, Burleigh 
Roberts, George M. Stevens, John L. Moore, K, B. Fletcher. 

The Siwooganock Guaranty Savings Bank. — This bank was 
organized in 1887, with the following ofificers : W. S. Ladd, presi- 
dent; F. D. Hutchins, treasurer; G. R. Eaton, W. S. Ladd, C. B. 
Jordan, W. Clough, E. Fletcher, C. A. Bailey, and F. D. Hutchins, 




Mt. Prospect. Mt. Pleasant. 

Connecticut River and Toll Bridge. 




Lof; Jam at Toll Buidge, 1895. 



BANKS AND CORPORATIONS. 395 

trustees. Its incorporators were: W. S. Ladd, C. B. Jordan, I. W. 
Drew, G. Van Dyke, W. Clough, F. P. Brown, C. T. McNally, J. H. 
Dudley, O. Ray, W. R. Danforth, G. M. Stevens, C. A. Cleaveland, 
B. C. Garland, W. F. Dodge, B. A. Taylor, D. H. Beattie, G. R. 
Eaton, F. D. Hutchins, E. Fletcher, B. Roberts, C. A. Bailey, A. M. 
Beattie, J. I. Parsons, A. R. Evans, F. N. Day, J. C. Pattee, E. W. 
Scribner, R. McCarten, S. Cole, L. T. Hazen, S. E. Paine. 

This bank has done a fine business, and has won the confidence 
of the community as one of its safe and useful institutions. Its 
capital, or guarantee fund, is $60,000. Its assets April i, 1896, 
$441,675. 

Its present officers are : President, I. W. Drew ; treasurer, F. D. 
Hutchins. Trustees; I. VV. Drew, Geo. R. Eaton, Everett Fletcher, 
F. D. Hutchins, Burleigh Roberts, Geo. M. Stevens. 

The Lancaster Trust Company . — This is a state bank, incorpo- 
rated in 1 89 1, doing business in Kent's building in the same rooms 
also occupied by the Lancaster Savings bank. Its charter is a very 
comprehensive one, enabling its managers to do the general busi- 
ness of a trust company, discount bank, real estate and financial 
agency. So far, only a banking department has been organized. 
Its cash capital is $100,000. 

Its first board of oflficers elected June 21, 1891, was as follows: 
President, Henry O. Kent; vice-presidents, Chester B. Jordan, Geo. 
Van Dyke; treasurer, Henry Percy Kent; secretary, Willie E. Bul- 
lard. Directors : Henry O. Kent, Frank Jones, George Van Dyke, 
Ezra Mitchell, C. C. O'Brion, Chester B. Jordan, Erastus V. Cob- 
leigh, Edward R. Kent, Willie E. Bullard. 

This bank has done a steadily increasing and prosperous business, 
and is properly regarded as one of the strong financial institutions 
of the state. Its statement of August i, 1896, shows a capital of 
$100,000. Surplus, $8,473.29 ; deposits, $50,620. 

Its present officers are: President, Henry O. Kent; vice-presi- 
dents, Chester B. Jordan, Ezra Mitchell; clerk of the corporation, 
Charles A. Cleaveland ; treasurer, Henry Percy Kent. Directors : 
Henry O. Kent, Frank Jones, Chester B. Jordan, Ezra Mitchell, 
Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Charles C. Cleaveland, Henry 
Percy Kent, H. H. Danforth. 

THE LANCASTER BRIDGE COMPANY. 

In the settlement of the Connecticut river valley, the rich meadow 
lands on both sides offered extra inducements to develop settlements 
east and west of the river at the same time. This was so in the 
" Upper Coos " settlement. Lancaster and Northumberland on the 
New Hampshire side, and Lunenburg and Guildhall on the Ver- 
mont side, kept abreast of each other in their development. As 



396 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

pioneer life changed with the growth of the several villages in these 
towns, communication between them became increasingly impor- 
tant, demanding better means of crossing the river than the primi- 
tive custom of fording it. Northumberland and Guildhall villages 
were more populous than Lancaster and Lunenburg, for a time, 
from which consideration those two villages were connected by a 
ferry at the hands of Gen. Edwards Bucknam, which he later sold to 
Jonathan Grant, Sept. 9, 1803. Bucknam had petitioned the gen- 
eral court, Oct. 8, 1784, for the privilege of using the river for build- 
ing mills and a ferry, which privilege was granted him, and by 
which he controlled the river for one mile below and above the falls. 

About the time Bucknam sold his ferry, Lancaster was becoming 
a village of more importance than either Guildhall or Northumber- 
land, as a trading center. An increased demand for better facilities 
for crossing the river at Lancaster led a few public-spirited men to 
take steps to build a toll bridge. The towns along the river were 
not able to meet the expense of a free bridge, and such a bridge 
was the only thing that could be had at the time. The legislature 
was applied to, and granted a charter by special act, incorporat- 
ing the Lancaster Bridge Company. The charter authorized the 
company " to build a bridge, and maintain it, over the Connecticut 
river at a place called ' Waits Bow.' " 

In the charter, Richard C. Everett and Levi Willard were desig- 
nated to call the -first meeting of the stockholders. The lands of the 
company were not to exceed five acres adjoining the bridge. The 
rate of tolls was also fixed by the charter, as follows : 

" I. For each foot passenger, i cent. 

2. For each horse and rider, 4 cents. 

3. For each Chaise, Chair, Sulky or other riding carriage, drawn by one horse, 

10 cents. 

4. For each Riding Sleigh drawn by one horse, 5 cents. 

5. For each Coach, Chariot, Phaeton or other four-wheeled carriage for pas- 

sengers, drawn by more than one horse, 20 cents. 

6. For each Curicle, 12 cents. 

7. For each Cart or other carriage of burthen, drawn by two beasts, 10 cents, 

and 2 cents for each additional yoke of oxen or pair of horses. 

8. For each horse, exclusive of those rid on, 3 cents. 

9. For each Neat Creature, i cent. 

10. For each Sheep or Swine, d cent, and to each team one person and no more 
shall be allowed, as a driver, to pass free of toll." 

These rates were to hold good if at the end of three years the 
profits did not exceed twelve per cent. If they exceeded that in- 
come, then the justices of the superior court were authorized to 
reduce them ; and thereafter at the end of every six years the same 
ruling was to hold. The court also had the authority to raise them 
if they fell below six per cent. 



BANKS AND CORPORATIONS. 397 

The incorporators were liable for the bridge in the same terms 
that a town is for its roads and bridges, and was indictable on the 
same grounds of lack of repair. 

The stock was issued in forty shares of fifty dollars each, and 
the following persons held it at the organization of the company : 
Isaac Bundy, 2 shares; Thomas Carlisle, 2 shares; Richard C. Ev- 
erett, 3 shares; William Lovejoy, i share; Levi Willard, 2 shares; 
Stephen Wilson, 2 shares; Jonathan Cram, i share; David Perkins, 
2 shares; James Baker, i share; Titus O. Brown, i share; Hum- 
phrey Cram, i share ; David Bunday, i share ; William Hines, i 
share; Artemas Wilder, 12 shares; Elisha Bunday, i share; David 
Dana, i share; Urial Rosebrook, i share; Lemuel Holmes, i share; 
Asa Holmes, i share ; Samuel Howe, i share ; Timothy Faulkner, 
I share ; Bowman Chaddock, i share. 

The first corporation meeting was called for August 20, at which 
a preliminary organization was effected, with Richard C. Everett, 
chairman, and Thomas Carlisle, as clerk. A permanent organiza- 
tion was effected September 24, by the election of Daniel Dana, 
president, Thomas Carlisle, clerk, and Richard C. Everett, treas- 
urer. 

This bridge served a valuable purpose, and was a source of con- 
siderable profit, though profits never ran so high as to subject its 
rates to the scaling-down provided for in its charter. Its stock was 
always regarded good, and found buyers whenever its owners wished 
to dispose of it. During the many years of its existence there were 
sundry changes in its list of stockholders, and also its officers. The 
late R. P. Kent, who came to Lancaster in 1825, became an owner 
of stock, and an officeholder in the corporation, and for forty years 
served as clerk and treasurer. At the time of his death he was one 
of the largest holders of its stock. 

The first bridge was built in 1804, and was, for the times, a sub- 
stantial structure; but in 1828 it was rebuilt, and in 1840 a new 
one, the present one, was built. All were heavy wooden struc- 
tures, but served a valuable purpose in bringing to the village of 
Lancaster the trade of the Vermont side of the river for a consider- 
able distance. 

The present bridge becoming a source of considerable expense 
with a rate of income too small to afford profits, and to enable own- 
ers to replace it in case of loss, it was decided to sell it to the three 
towns adjoining it, — Lancaster, Lunenburg, and Guildhall. Accord- 
ingly steps were taken to dispose of it, and as public sentiment was 
strong against toll bridges, it was arranged between the towns 
referred to, to take action upon the matter; Lancaster and Guildhall, 
at their respective town-meetings, and Lunenburg by private sub- 
scription, in the spring of 1894. This action was favorable to the 



398 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

purchase of tlic bridge by the three towns jointly. Lancaster ap- 
propriated $2,000, Guildhall $300, and Lunenburg $200, which was 
accepted by the bridge company, and the property was conveyed to 
the towns in the spring of 1894. The toll house was sold for $400, 
and a dividend was made of the amount between the thirty-eight 
shares standing out at that time. 

For ninety years the old bridge served the public, and in keeping 
with the tendency of the times to make all public service free, it has 
yielded to the inevitable. Its last ofificers were : Henry O. Kent, 
president ; Henry Percy Kent, secretary and treasurer ; directors, 
Henry O. Kent, Isaac W. Hopkinson, and Henry Percy Kent. 

THE COOS MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. 

This company was incorporated by special act of the legislature 
July 13, 1855. The incorporators were: Benjamin F. Whidden, 
Charles B. Allen, Enoch L. Colby, Daniel C. Pinkham, Reuben L. 
Adams, David A. Burnside, Aurin M. Chase, Daniel A. Bowe, Nel- 
son Kent, and William R. Stockwell. 

The first three of these were named to call the first meeting, which 
was not done until May 6, 1862, when notice was given the incorpo- 
rators to meet at the law office of Benjamin F. Whidden on May 17, 
1862, for the organization of the company. Only a temporary or- 
ganization was effected, with B. F. Whidden, chairman, and D. C. 
Pinkham, secretary. 

The act of incorporation, section 16, chapter 1794, private acts, 
was adopted. At this first meeting, William Heywood, Henry O. 
Kent, John Whittemore, and S. W. Cooper were elected associates 
in the corporation. A board of directors, consisting of B. F. Whid- 
den, E. L. Colby. C. B. Allen, WiUiam Heywood, S. W. Cooper, 
and Henry O. Kent, was elected. 

On June 3, 1862, permanent officers were chosen, consisting of 
B. F. Whidden, president; S. W. Cooper, secretary. At this meet- 
ing, John Whittemore of Colebrook and William A. White of Lan- 
caster were appointed a committee to solicit business for the new 
company, which gained the confidence of the people, and a fair 
amount of business was transacted from the start. At an ad- 
journed meeting, on Aug. 13, 1862, H. O. Kent was elected perma- 
nent secretary, and held that position throughout its existence. 

The company,- as its name indicates, was wholly mutual, all of 
its patrons becoming members in the corporation upon the insur- 
ance of their property. The business was conducted economically, 
and in every respect it was a first-class protection against loss by 
fire, and as cheap as mutual insurance could be afforded at the time. 

Within a year of its organization, C. B. Allen, L. F. Moore, and 



BANKS AND CORPORATIONS. 399 

H. A. Fletcher were elected directors, and served in that relation 
throughout its existence. 

Intending to be absent from the state during the year of 1862, 
Mr. H. O. Kent was authorized by the directors to appoint an assist- 
ant secretary, which he did by selecting D. C. Pinkham. Upon 
his return to Lancaster, December i, 1862, he resumed his duties as 
secretary July i, 1863. 

On September i, 1863, a new board of directors was elected, this 
being its annual meeting. That board consisted of B. F. Whid- 
den, E. L. Colby, William Heywood, Jacob Benton, L. F. Moore, 
C. B. Allen, John Whittemore, Joseph Colby, and Merrill C. Forest. 

A schedule of salaries was established as follows: President, $10 
per year ; secretary, fifty cents on each policy, and fifty cents for 
each directors' meeting; treasurer, $3 per day and expenses; all 
ofhcers $2 per day for settling losses; agents fifty cents on each 
policy from the company, and the same amount from the insured, 
and fees for services necessitating extra service ; directors, fifty cents 
for each meeting, five cents for each application approved, and ten 
cents a mile one way for travel in attending directors' meetings, 
not to exceed four meetings a year. 

At a meeting of the directors, the same day, the following ofhcers 
were elected: E. L. Colby, president; H. O. Kent, secretary; Ira 
S. M. Gove, treasurer. The ofhces of the secretary and treasurer 
were located in the Kent block. Main street, Lancaster. The busi- 
ness by this time had grown to promising proportions. Losses 
were promptly met, and the finances of the corporation were in good 
condition. 

Mr. Kent intending to be absent again for some time, was given 
authority by the directors to appoint an assistant secretary. He 
appointed George H. Emerson, but changed it to William Hey- 
wood, until July 11, 1864, when, on his return, he resumed his 
duties in that ofhce until the close of its career. In 1864, the late 
H. A. Fletcher was elected treasurer, and served in that capacity 
for a term of eight years, when he was succeeded by Charles E. 
Allen, who served in that relation to the company until it went out 
of business. E. L. Colby was president from his first election in 
1863, until December 30, 1875, when he was succeeded by William 
Heywood, who continued in that ofhce until the close of the com- 
pany's career. 

John Whittemore of Colebrook, N. H., F. I. Bean of Berlin, 
N. H., W. A. White of Lancaster, William Goodman of Norway, 
Me., and E. L. Colby of Lancaster, served the company most of 
the time as its agents in the solicitation of business. 

The time came when the mutual companies could not afford as 
cheap insurance as the old line companies ; and this one, as legions 



400 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

of others throughout the country, had to yield to the inevitable and 
go out of business. Accordingly at its meeting of May 15, 1877, 
it was " voted to discontinue issuing policies after twelve o'clock, 
May 31, 1877, and to close up all business of the company." Ar- 
rangements were made with the Springfield Fire and Marine Insur- 
ance company for the insurance of all its policy-holders who might 
wish to make the change at a lower rate than they had been paying 
in the Coos Mutual, and for the immediate protection of its policy- 
holders during the time of closing up business. Due notice was 
sent by circular letter to all the policy-holders. 

The claims of the company were settled, as also all its liabilities, 
and on December 9, 1879, the last meeting was held, at which final 
disposition of its affairs was made, and the Coos Mutual, once a 
useful institution, joined that innumerable company of things that 
have become outgrown by the marvelous changes that have come 
over our modern civilization, concentrating enterprises into larger 
and new forms of cooperation. 

Early in the century there was a local mutual fire insurance 
company in operation in Lancaster — we think the prototype of its 
successor here referred to. Its career was honorable, but it was not 
long in business. No trace can be found of its records or official 
lists at this time. 

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND RIDING PARK. 

The Coos Agricultural Society — The Coos and Essex Counties Agri- 
cultural Society — The Riding Park of Coos County. 

An agricultural society, called The Coos Agricultural Society, 
was organized in the county about 1820, and for four years held 
" county fairs," with considerable success at Lancaster. This 
society fell into decay, and for nearly a half century nothing like it 
existed here. Finally, Lancaster came into line in a movement that 
was universal in this country about 1869, and organized another 
agricultural society, and again held county fairs of great interest for 
a number of years. What was called the " Coos and Essex Counties 
Agricultural Society " was organized in 1870, and comprised the 
territory of the two counties of those names, lying on opposite sides 
of the Connecticut river. The first officers of this society were : 
William D. Weeks, president; John W. Hartshorn of Lunenburg, 
Vt., and Hazen Bedel of Colebrook, N. H., vice-presidents; Henry 
O. Kent, treasurer ; Charles E.Benton, Guildhall, Vt., and George 
H. Emerson of Lancaster, secretaries. There was also a large execu- 
tive committee selected from the various outlying towns. This society 
held fairs with a considerable degree of success for some years, and 
then, with declining interest and increasing debts, suspended opera- 
tions. 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND RIDING PARK. 4OI 

In 1870 the Riding Park Association of Coos county was 
organized. This was composed of some of the best business men 
of the town, who made a substantial success of their undertaking. 
An organization was effected May 26 of that year; and twenty acres 
of desirable lands were secured on the main road to Northumber- 
land, a part of the Emmons Stockwell farm, and a good track was 
built and all other necessary improvements were made, giving the 
association a fine track and grounds. This was a voluntary cor- 
poration under the statutes of the state. For a number of years 
this, like its predecessors, flourished, and like them it had its evil 
day. Interest in speeding horses died out, and with diminishing 
proceeds from its exhibitions for several years, it became a los- 
ing undertaking, and after sinking some eight or ten thousand 
dollars in it the association sold it to George P. Rowell of New 
York, a former resident of the town. He undertook to revive 
interest in the speeding of horses and county fairs, and succeeded in 
bringing together another society or rather the reorganization of the 
old Coos and Essex Counties Agricultural societies. 

On January 22, 1884, this society was reorganized under chapter 
1 5 I of the General Laws of New Hampshire. The following persons 
constituted the association : Edward Spaulding, A. J. Congdon, 
Frank Smith, William Clough, Henry O. Kent, Edward Emerson, 
I. W. Quimby, Proctor Jacobs, George H. Emerson, William D. 
Weeks, Isaac W. Hopkinson, W. C. Spaulding, Henry S. Webb, 
George P. Rowell, Edward R. Kent, John Lindsey, Joseph Winch, 
James W. Weeks, John Costello, H. I. Guernsey, Henry S. Hilliard. 

Since then forty-seven other persons have become members of 
the society. Its first annual meeting fell on February 2, 1884, 
when the following officers were elected : 

George P. Rowell, president; I. W. Drew, E. R. Kent of Lancas- 
ter, and J. M. Dodge of Lunenburg, Vt., vice-presidents; I. W. 
Quimby, secretary; H. S. Hilliard and H. S. Webb, assistant secre- 
taries; George H. Emerson, treasurer; J. Winch, G. E. Carbee, 
J. Evans, J. H. Woodward, J. W. Weeks, Jr.. Henry Heywood, and 
\\\ D. Weeks, directors. 

This organization revived the old-time county fairs, and added 
to the other attractions horse trotting, bicycle racing, wrestling, 
jumping, and a variety of other kinds of racing, which proved 
an attraction for several years. The agricultural exhibits for a 
time were good, and then for various reasons declined, and finally 
were given up by their promoters among the farming population. 
The old Riding Park Association and some new members formed 
what is now known as the Lancaster Driving club, and the grounds 
are now known as the driving park, owned mostly by the Mount 
Washington Stock Farm (Geo. R. Eaton, Geo. M. Stevens, George 
26 



402 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Van Dyke). This club holds annually a fair and frequent trotting 
races, at which good premiums and purses are offered, and which 
are well attended though it is not a money-making enterprise for its 
managers. In fact they lose money on it, but being public-spirited 
men they keep the institution alive for the good of the community ; 
and in this respect it does much good for the farmers and stock- 
raisers of the immediate section of country. Among its promoters 
are Hon. Irving W. Drew, George Van Dyke, George R. Eaton, and 
George M. Stevens. Its present officers are: George R.Eaton, 
president; George M. Stevens, general manager; George E. 
Stevens, secretary ; Fielding Smith, assistant secretary; George E. 
Stevens, treasurer. 



CHAPTER IX. 
EDUCATION. 



Founding of Schools — Early Teachers — Schoolhouses — School Dis- 
tricts — The Town System. 

By James S. Brackett. 

It is a difficult task to get at the facts in relation to the schools of 
the towai. Certain facts, however, are a matter of record, and are 
therefore reliable, while much more is traditional and must pass for 
what tradition is worth. There is nothing definitely known of the 
action of the town in regard to education until the year 1790, when 
at a town-meeting on December 13 of that year it was "voted 30 
bushels of wheat, including what the law directs to be laid out in 
schooling the present winter." There had been schools in different 
parts of the town at irregular intervals, taught by men and women 
who happened to be here and were thought sufficiently proficient 
in reading, writing, and arithmetic, to instruct the youth of the set- 
tlement. 

It is generally conceded that Mrs. Ruth Stockwell {nee Page) 
was the first person to give instruction in the town, but she kept no 
regular school. The early settlers were precluded by the very 
nature of their surroundings from having schools or acquiring much 
education. Their immediate task was one of securing homes. The 
clearing of their lands and building their first rude houses engrossed 
their whole attention. There was little time left for books if they 
had possessed them, which they did not to much extent. Theirs 
was the struggle for existence. Even the first settlers were men of 
some education. They could all read and write, and were men of 
good judgment and sound common sense. They had their Bibles 
and a few other books, mostly religious literature, in their homes. 




High School Building. 




Primary Department of 
Lancaster Academy and High School. 

(Site of Lancaster]Academy, 1S37-1895.) 



EDUCATION. 403 

Edwards Bucknamwas something of a scholar. He wrote a good 
hand and was a practical surveyor (he surveyed the town for the 
proprietors), and could impart his knowledge to others. 

The first schoolmaster in Lancaster of whom we have definite 
knowledge was Joseph Bergin, an Englishman, who came here from 
Boston, Mass. He arrived at Edwards Bucknam's, June 12, 1787, 
and after "washing his clothes at Lacous's, June 13, and returned 
to my house the 14th," as Bucknam wrote in his diary, must have 
gone to teaching at once; for on June 17, John Weeks, writing to 
his wife in Greenland, N. H., says: "John (his son, J. W.) values 
much on his reading and spelling at school, as he gets the better of 
all his age, and many much older. The schoolmaster — Mr. Ber- 
gin an Englishman — boarded with us last week : we take turns to 
board him weekly." This, of course, was the same one of whom 
Bucknam spoke as beginning to teach school June 20, at five dol- 
lars a month, for a term of six months. Bucknam also mentions 
the fact that his son Edward went to school to a Mr. Bradley, and 
boarded at D. Stanley's. This school was in the Stockwell and 
Page neighborhood. The first schoolhouse was built in that sec- 
tion on the Stockwell farm, just on the bluff to the left as one ap- 
proaches the old Stockwell house. Here is no doubt where Master 
Bradley taught at that time. 

It is somewhat singular that records, or memoranda of some kind, 
were not kept and transmitted to us showing the early history of 
education in this intelligent community. I have heard my father 
say (he was twelve years old when he came to town with his father 
in 1789) that all he attended school in Lancaster did not exceed six 
months; and Major John W. Weeks said that he never went to 
school more than ten or twelve months in Lancaster. 

The teachers were not well paid at first. While Master Bergin 
was teaching at the rate of sixty dollars a year, Edwards Biicknam 
was paying a common laborer on his farm ninety dollars a year. 

In the year 1789, the general court of Massachusetts gave towns 
the right to divide their territory into districts, and establish district 
schools. Lancaster, perhaps with that precedent in mind, appointed 
a committee of nine persons at the annual town-meeting, March 11, 
1794, to divide the town into school districts. We have no record of 
their action, but it is very probable that three districts were then 
formed, as there had practically been as many before that time. The 
town was settled in a way that naturally divided it into three sections 
of nearly equal population, and about equally distant from the centre 
of the town. The first school had no doubt come into existence in 
the Stockwell neighborhood, the second in the Bucknam neighbor- 
hood at the south end of the town, and the next one in what is now 
the village. As nearly as can now be ascertained, the district com- 



404 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. ' 

prised the limits of the present High school district (old Union 
district comprised of Nos. i and 12). It extended from the old 
Parson Willard place to Indian brook, and east as far as the town 
was then settled, which was nearly the present village limits. Dis- 
trict No. 2 comprised all the territory south of the Willard lot to 
Dalton line, and has always retained its number. District No. 3, all 
the territory north of Indian brook to Northumberland line, and east 
to the limits of the settlement on Page hill. 

This was the first action of the town in organizing and providing 
for the management of its schools. For nearly thirty years after 
the settlement of the town, the only school advantages it afforded 
its youth were those of private schools, sustained through the pri- 
vate funds of the few settlers who thought more of the benefits of a 
simple education for their children than they did of hoarding their 
limited wealth. It seems that those who took the initiative in the 
matter were the settlers in that section of the town that has become 
District No. 3. Those who settled in what is now the village High 
school district and at the south end of the town, were early inter- 
ested in founding schools. 

One can readily imagine that the mothers tried to teach their 
children the alphabet, and that the fathers contributed their scanty 
store of general knowledge, gleaned from their earlier lives in the set- 
tlements of Massachusetts before coming to New Hampshire. The 
instruction thus imparted was given, in many cases, to the less 
favored of the companions of the boys and girls, and in this way the 
little spark of knowledge was kept from going out; and later it was 
kindled into a bright flame which has grown brighter with each suc- 
ceeding generation, until its radiance equals that of almost any com- 
munity in New England. As science has developed and shed its 
light upon our country, Lancaster has caught its rays and concen- 
trated them upon the path of her life. 

Many men and women have borne testimony to the great difificul- 
ties they labored under in acquiring even the rudiments of an edu- 
cation. Books of any kind were scarce. School books were not 
only scarce, but of the most primitive character and design, and it 
took many hard knocks to get their intent and meaning into the 
minds of the youth who sought their aid. In my father's possession 
was a manuscript copy of an arithmetic, having only the funda- 
mental rules, — that is, the rules and examples of addition, subtrac- 
tion, multiplication, and division, with a few examples in interest 
and the " Rule, of Three." It was because there were so few books 
that this labor of transcribing was bestowed upon it ; and it must 
have been regarded as a treasure, crude and simple as it was. 
Judge Everett also copied arithmetics for his girls. 

The old residents, the first settlers, have told us how they read 



EDUCATION. 405 

and studied evenings by the light of blazing lights of pitch-knots on 
the stone hearths of the log cabin. Tallow was scarce, and the 
" tallow dip " was only used when some guest was present, or on 
other like important occasions, such as weddings or funerals. This 
" pursuit of knowledge under difftculties " was after a hard day's 
work in the forest or field, clearing land, or cultivating or harvest- 
ing the crops. The winter afforded more time for study, while the 
snow was piled high about the cabin and in the little clearings, and 
the only path to a neighbor's cabin was indicated by the blazed 
trees through woods dense and deep, and almost as illimitable 
as the sea. With the Bible and " Sternhold's and Hopkins's version 
of the Psalms," and an arithmetic, such as has been described, 
parents and children read and repeated over and over again, the 
wonderful prophesies, or the sacred songs, or perhaps with charcoal 
worked out the arithmetical problems on pieces of bark. A monot- 
onous life it was, but it strengthened many for the broader fields 
upon which they entered. 

District No. I . — The first schoolhouse in District No. i was of 
hewn logs, similar in its outward construction to the log houses of 
the first settlers. It had rows of low seats around the sides. The 
teacher's desk was at the end of the room near the low doorway 
that admitted the pupils. At the other end of the room was a huge 
fireplace built of stone, with a chimney of the same material. This 
house, however, gave place to a frame structure, occupying nearly 
the same site, early in this century, and is described by one 
who knew it well, in the following narrative: "The schoolhouses 
indicated pretty clearly how the settlement progressed. The school- 
house in district No. i stood directly north and adjoining the pres- 
ent court-house lands. The northeast corner was crowded into the 
street twenty feet or more from the present limits. The house was 
a large, flat-roofed structure, capable of accommodating, after a fash- 
ion, more than a hundred pupils. The windows were so high that 
the boys and girls could not see into" the street or meadows without 
standing up. The house was warmed by an immense fireplace some 
six feet wide and three feet deep. There was a broad board seat 
next the wall all around, except at the teacher's desk ; and there 
were as many as four or five rows of seats, with an occasional table 
on each side, with a chance for entrance at the ends, and from a 
narrow alley through the middle. There were seats in front of the 
tables or desks on which the smaller pupils sat. These were often 
so high that they could not touch their feet to the floor. The seats 
and tables were raised by an inclined plane, two feet or more at the 
back side of the room. Directly opposite the fireplace, and at the 
other end of the room, was the teacher's desk, raised two steps 
above the fioor. At the northeast corner of the house was a large 



406 ' HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

entry, where the boys hung their hats, and in the opposite corner 
of the same end of the room there was a large closet where the girls 
hung their cloaks and bonnets. It has been said that there was a sort 
of rivalry between what is now the village school, or district No. i, 
and school district No. 2. General Bucknam lived in No. 2, near the 
mouth of Beaver brook. Col. Stephen Wilson lived on the place 
which has passed successively through his hands and Richard Ste- 
phenson, Ephraim Cross, John Mason,W. J. Brown, Samuel Rowell, J. 
W. Savage, R. W. Dickson, and is at present occupied by H. S. Hill- 
iard. The extensive Beaver meadows and the beautiful intervales 
made the location particularly desirable to Captain Weeks and 
Lieut. Joseph Brackett; and Joseph Toscan sold goods in district 
No. 2 as early as any were sold in town." (MS. of James W. 
Weeks.) This old building, erected about 18 10, in the village dis- 
trict, continued in use, somewhat remodeled inside, until 1869, when 
the present graded school building was built. In 1870 this old 
building was moved down Main street and placed upon a lot then 
made vacant by the removal of the old county building. Later it 
was moved to Canal street and placed upon the rear end of the lot 
once occupied by the old Coos hotel. The building was taken down 
in 1897. 

District No. 2. — The first schoolhouse in district No. 2 was of 
logs, and stood on land owned by General Bucknam, on the south 
side of the road leading from the village to Dalton, and about fifty 
rods westerly of the site of the old brick schoolhouse that was built 
in 1837 and pulled down in 1889. The first framed schoolhouse in 
that district was built in 1800, on the north side of the road, at 
the top of " Brackett Hill," as it was called, on land owned by Capt. 
Briant Stephenson. It was of nearly the same style as that in dis- 
trict No. I, — a square, flat-roofed structure. The seats, however, 
were on the northerly side, rising from the floor on an inclined plane 
about two and a half or three feet on the back side of the room. 
The space on the floor was occupied by several long, rude benches, 
on which the little children sat, enduring torture from having no 
means of resting their backs or supporting themselves from the floor ; 
for in many cases their legs actually dangled in the air. Some 
teachers, however, were thoughtful enough to give the little ones 
some rest, by allowing them to change their positions by reclining 
upon the benches, if there was room, or by letting them have a 
longer recess out of doors, if the weather would permit of it. Expe- 
rience taught a lesson of misery never to be forgotten, as the small 
boys and girls were sometimes required to sit bolt upright, and as 
rigid as mummies, hour after hour. Some teachers, possibly most 
of them, were thoughtful and considerate of the comfort of children. 
There was one teacher, however, whose whole course of conduct 



EDUCATION. 407 

toward the small children was brutal. He was too great a coward to 
" tackle " the older ones. On one occasion the day was very cold, 
the big fireplace was piled high with wood, and the fire roared up 
the great chimney, but there was not enough heat to make the 
room comfortable at its farthest limits. Many were the " permis- 
sions " asked, "May I go to the fire? " These were granted. After 
the larger boys and girls had been allowed to go to the fire and warm 
themselves, and a place was open before the great fire, a little fel- 
low asked, "May I go to the fire?" He was allowed to do so; 
and one after another of the small boys and girls, emboldened by his 
success, made the same requests until fourteen of them were ranged 
about the hearth, when with the fiendish joy of a savage, the master 
arranged them in a semicircle about the roaring fire, then with 
the long poker he stirred the fire and added fuel, keeping every 
one of the children in their tracks, while the blood, in two or three 
cases, ran from their noses. He savagely said to them, " I '11 learn 
you to ask to go to the fire ! " The school suffered that act of sav- 
agery as long as it could, when some of the older boys arose and 
told the suffering children to go to their seats, and breathed threats 
of vengeance against the cowardly wretch, who dared not resist their 
orders. The result was, that some of the children were made ill by 
the roasting, and the teacher was summarily dismissed from the 
school. This man was a clergyman's son, and perhaps he thought 
it best to put to a practical application some of the theology of the 
times. 

Capt. Briant Stephenson, before mentioned, was the first clerk of 
the district, and held that position for many years. His handwrit- 
ing was almost perfect — " plain as print." He was a gentleman of 
the old school, neat in his personal appearance, and courteous to 
all. The old book of records, nearly filled by him, has unfortu- 
nately been lost. 

Among the schoolmasters in this old house were Samuel Webb 
of Lunenburg, Vt., John Dwight Willard, James W. Weeks, and 
James M. Rix. Among the schoolmistresses were Miss Eliza 
Moore, who later married Capt. Charles White, Miss Ann L. Whid- 
den, Miss Cynthia Stanley, daughter of Lieut. Dennis Stanley. 
Samuel A. Pearson was superintending school committee for the 
town many years, and his visits to the schools near the end of each 
term caused a great deal of trepidation among the pupils, as he put 
them through a pretty rigid examination, and was somewhat stern 
in his demeanor. Deacon William Farrar for a time held that office. 
He was not as large as " Squire Pearson," nor had he as imposing 
a presence ; but he was thorough, and gave many a boy and girl a 
" set back," who had come to think themselves remarkably profi- 
cient in their studies. Glibness of tongue failed to impress the dea- 



408 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

con with a conviction of the sohd attainments of the pupils. Like 
Gradgrind, what he wanted was "facts, sir, facts." Another com- 
mittee man in his remarks, after the examination, ahvays alluded to 
the possibility that before him was a future president of the United 
States ; at least there might be a governor or a judge. 

Another committee man when he arose to deliver his remarks, 
disclaimed the intention to make a speech, but thought it best " to 
throw out a few hints," invariably interlarding his discourse with 
Latin phrases and quotations, which the boys and girls knew as lit- 
tle of as they did of the language of the Indians, who a few years 
before had hunted and fished among these hills and along the 
streams. 

In 1836 the inhabitants of district No. 2, after a long controversy 
upon the location, decided to build a brick schoolhouse on the 
northerly side of the road, near the mouth of Beaver brook. The 
location was the worst that could have been chosen, the Connec- 
ticut river here coming within four or five roHs of the west and 
north sides of the building and the highway, much traveled, pass- 
ing close to the enclosure, with a high, rocky bank immediately in 
front, leaving no play-ground except the dusty and dangerous road, 
and what could be had by trespass upon the neighboring fields. It 
was a compromise measure, and as such measures generally are, 
was never entirely satisfactory to either party. The easterly and 
hill portion of the district wanted it located near where the old 
schoolhouse had stood; the westerly and southerly, or " Cat Bow" 
inhabitants, as they were called, wanted it still farther down the 
river. There was a deed in existence conveying the land to the dis- 
trict where the log schoolhouse had stood, and the land might have 
been held, if the people of the district had decided to build on that 
lot ; but it reverted to the owners of the farm from which it had 
been taken. The plot was thus lost, and the hill portion of the dis- 
trict was set off as District No. 14, in 1837. 

The brick with which the old brick schoolhouse was built were made 
on the farm of Judge Spencer Clark in Lunenburg, Vt., loaded upon 
a scow and floated down and across the river to the mouth of Beaver 
brook. The inner wall was laid up with clay morter, and the plaster 
laid upon the bare wall without furring or lathe. One can readily 
imagine the chilliness and dampness of the house in cold or cloudy 
weather. There were no means of ventilation except a broad and 
capacious fireplace and chimney. In summer the bare walls on 
the south and west sides would become heated to a very high tem- 
perature, there being no blinds to shut out the rays of the 
blazing sun, and its heat being intensified by the dusty road and 
scorching bank in front made the room intensely hot. There was 
one compensation, however, the back windows could be raised and 



EDUCATION. 409 

the cool air from the broad and beautiful river, and the fragrance of 
the meadows, rich and fair, penetrated the room and renewed some- 
what the languor of spirit that otherwise must have pervaded the 
place. 

The first term of school taught in this house in the winter of 
1 837-1 838, was by the late Hon. Benjamin F. Whidden, then a 
student at Dartmouth college. There were about twenty-five 
pupils. The comforable seating capacity of the room was about 
fifty. Then the pupils were from the families of the Berkeleys, 
Gosses, Whites, Chessmans, Weekses, Fields, Bracketts, Bakers, and 
Lanes on the river road, and the Hodgdons, Mclntires, Stebbinses, 
and Jennisons from the hill, or what was set off and became district 
No. 14. From over the river in Lunenburg, Vt., there were the 
Clarks, Moores, and one or two other families. The second winter 
term was commenced by George B. Hemmenway, also a student at 
Dartmouth college, a son of Solomon Hemmenway, whose health 
failed so that he had to give up the school. He went to Virginia 
and remained there until he died of consumption in 1844. He was 
a young man of great promise. Mr. Whidden filled out the remain- 
der of his term. Whidden was a good teacher, and introduced 
some new methods in his work by which the school greatly prof- 
ited. There were then but two terms of school in a year, — a winter 
term of three months, taught by a man, because all the big boys 
were in attendance, and a summer term of the same length, taught 
by a woman, because only the smaller children attended at that time 
of the year. The list of teachers among the men employed in this 
school is a long and honorable one, — college students and those 
who had acquired their education in the common school and at the 
Lancaster academy, men who subsequently made honorable records 
for themselves in the great, busy world. Among the women were 
some mature and experienced teachers, while not a few had just 
entered upon this means of obtaining a living, some of whom were 
successful and others utter failures. In those early days, and up to 
about i860, this district held its reputation as being foremost in 
scholarship of any in town, not even excepting the village district, 
which was deservedly high. [This may well have happened, for the 
village district only expended $62.13 for school purposes in 1853, 
of which $5.13 went to mend the windows, and $4.50 for wood, leav- 
ing $52.50 spent on teachers. In 1859 it spent on account of teach- 
ers $1 12.16, since which time the expenses have grown and the 
school has improved in the ratio of expense for teaching talent. — 
Ed.] 

Owing to various changes in the population of district No. 2, the 
number of pupils decreased, and there was not that stimulating 
rivalry that had formerly obtained, and the school lost its high place 



4IO HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

in the rank of schools in the town. The old brick schoolhouse was 
thoroughly repaired in 1854, by a committee consisting of William 
A. White, John S. Clark, and James S. Brackett. More modern 
seats and desks displaced the old pine ones, which bore the marks 
of many a jackknife, in quaint letters and designs. In 1889 the old 
house was dismantled and the present one erected. The present 
schoolhouse stands on the site of the barns built by Andrew Adams, 
a cousin of the famous John Adams, second president of the United 
States. Mr. Adams lived on this farm for many years, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Benjamin Adams, who raised a large family. 
This house is finished and furnished in accordance with the pro- 
gressive ideas of the times, with what is necessary for the physi- 
cal, mental, and moral training of the young ; and over it floats the 
flag of our country, as it does over many of the schoolhouses in our 
town. 

District No, 3 comprised the farms and families of the Stock- 
wells, Pages, Lieut. Dennis Stanley, and several others. The first 
schoolhouse was built and maintained for a number of years on the 
high bank, on the south side of the old road, a short distance east 
of the old Stockwell house, now occupied by a grandson of Emmons 
Stockwell. On this farm Emmons Stockwell, David Page, and 
Edwards Bucknam struck the first blow and felled the first trees to 
make a settlement in Lancaster. This old schoolhouse, probably 
the first one in town, was built on the same plan of the others men- 
tioned and described, — square, low, and flat-roofed. A. N. Brackett, 
then a young man, taught here several terms, and his experience, 
he always maintained, was of much benefit to him. The old house 
became too small for the growing number of pupils, and another 
was built. It was later moved up to near the place where A. J. 
Congdon lives, and after a few years it was removed to the site now 
occupied by it, on the more direct road to Northumberland. 

District No. 4 was all that remained of the territory not set off 
by boundaries into school districts in 1794. From this district 
were taken all the remaining districts except No. 12, which was a 
part of No. i, and has been united with it since 1869, and No. 14, 
which was a part of No. 2. There was no schoolhouse built in dis- 
trict No. 4 for a long time after those of the districts taken from it. 
As now defined it embraces the Aspenwall, McGerry, and Farnham 
neighborhoods. The district has a comfortable house and an attend- 
ance of over twenty pupils. 

District No. 5. — This district lies along the road from the village 
to Jefferson Mills, or Riverton, and the cross-roads westerly from the 
first-named road. The first schoolhouse built in this district, then 
called the Gotham district, stood on the south side of the road lead- 
ing from the Jefferson road to the Judge Eastman place, now^ owned 



EDUCATION. 411 

by Charles Chessman, and near where a road leaves this one to 
pass east of Mt. Prospect. It was like the other houses described, 
with the exception of its desks, which were so constructed as to seat 
but two pupils, and the teacher, without having an elevated platform 
and desk, had a table and chair on the level of the floor. This 
house was very early used as a place of worship by the " Calvinist 
Baptists," of which faith were the Gothams. People of that faith 
from Jefferson and the east part of the town thronged it on Sundays 
to hear the scriptures expounded from their point of view. After 
district No. 1 1 was taken from this district, a new house, more mod- 
ern in architecture and better fitted and adapted to educational pur- 
poses, was built on the west side of the Jefferson road and on the 
southern slope of LeGro hill, a few rods south of the Samuel Twom- 
bly place. 

District No. 6. — This is the " out east" portion of the town. It 
comprised the families of Goss, Twombly, John Savage, Balch, and 
Douglas Spaulding, and others. It became a separate district in 1825, 
and a schoolhouse was built on the east side of the road, not far 
from the location of the present one. It conformed to the scrip- 
tural teaching and was built upon a rock. It was built upon a 
smooth ledge of rock, difificult of access. It resembled, in general 
appearance, all those which had preceded it in town. Grace and 
adornment had not entered into the practical and hard-worked souls 
and bodies of these men and women who wrought against odds in 
their struggles to make homes for their children and grandchildren. 
They conquered the wilderness, and made it " blossom as the rose." 
They founded schools and churches ; and if their buildings were not 
models of beauty and art, their characters of honesty and worth are 
worthy of imitation and remembrance. Many persons now living 
can remember the time when this district was very thinly settled. 
The woods were everywhere. Now it is beautiful for its scenery, 
and the well-cultivated farms, neat and commodious farm buildings, 
all of which is indicative of the intelligence of its inhabitants. 

District No. 7. — This was, not long ago, more sylvan than No. 
6 ; but the same general character pervades it now. It comprised, 
when set off as a new district, all of the territory "out east" not 
embraced in districts Nos. 4 and 6 ; that is, all the territory west- 
erly of the farm of Samuel L. Whidden and now of Reuben F. Car- 
ter, including what is now called Grange village as far as the Abbott 
place. The present schoolhouse is said to be the first and only one 
the district has had, although it has undergone extensive changes 
and repairs, with improvements upon the old structure. 

District No. 8. — This district covered a large territory at first. 
It extended to take in all the settlements on both sides of Martin 
Meadow pond as far as Abiel Lovejoy's. The first schoolhouse was 



412 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

built about 1820, and was situated on the westerly side of the road 
leading to East VVhitefield and about eighty rods north of the house 
where James B. Weeks lived, on the highest point of land on the 
road. This house was somewhat of an improvement on some of 
the former schoolhouses of the town. It retained the flat roof, high 
windows, and the big fireplace as its predecessors had. After this 
house had become dilapidated to a certain extent, and had become 
unfit for occupancy, another house was built at the forks of the road 
leading to Whitefield and East Whitefield, very nearly on the site 
of the dwelling-house once occupied by John W. Brackett, a loca- 
tion much more pleasant, and more sheltered from the bleak winds 
that swept over the height of land where the old house had stood, 
although it does not command as fine a view of the surrounding coun- 
try. Mr. John W. Brackett and family were zealous Freewill Bap- 
tists, and those people of the same faith living^within ten or fifteen 
miles of his house made it their centre of religious activities ; and 
when the old schoolhouse was not otherwise occupied they held 
their meetings in it. Many were the scenes there and then enacted 
that would seem very strange to the people of to-day. Prior to the 
building of the first schoolhouse in this district, as had been the 
case in nearly all the others, the school itself " went around." Hon. 
James W. Weeks, who remembers those events, says of district No. 
8 : " There were at least twenty children in this district of school 
age, and they lived nearly two miles apart. The school would com- 
mence in a room at Cofifin Moore's (he lived where James E. Mcln- 
tyre now does), where there were twelve children, but some of them 
were away. Reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught. The 
school would continue at Moore's two or three weeks, or what was 
his proportion of the time, determined by the number of pupils, 
when it would be announced that the school would move. The 
time having arrived for moving, the larger boys would take the 
benches (which were made of slabs, with sticks set in augur holes 
for legs) upon their sleds, and go to J. W. Brackett's, where there 
were ten children. A room would be vacated, and the benches 
moved in. A table on which to write Hvould be borrowed, or rudely 
constructed of pine boards, and the school opened again. The 
teacher boarded with the family until their proportion of the time 
was filled out. Then the school would make another move to J. B. 
Weeks's, and from there to Mr. Bucknam's, from whence it next 
would go to Abial Lovejoy's, and round out its term. The teachers 
were women competent to teach the common English branches, 
and in a few instances they were able to teach the higher branches." 
District No. 9. — This district comprises what is known as the 
Gore. In this district the Leavitts, Wentworths, Moultons, Smiths, 
and Mardens* received their education. For many years much of 



EDUCATION. 413 

the territory of this district was a wilderness, but it is now mostly 
reclaimed, as is most of the land of the entire town. 

District JSfo. 10. — This district was taken from the territory of 
No. 8. This district was settled by David Emerson, Elder Lewis, 
the Taylors, Bullards, and Straws. When the first schoolhouse was 
built in this district, the modern ideas of comfort and economy had 
advanced so far as to displace the fireplace by stoves. Fireplaces 
were no longer considered essential in schoolhouses, and stoves had 
become popular. This district lies in the extreme southwestern cor- 
ner of the town. In early times this section of the town was a 
famous resort of game. On one side of it lies that beautiful sheet 
of water known as Martin Meadow pond, frequented by deer 
in great abundance ; and on its banks the otter had his slides. 
Southerly lies Cherry mountain, just beyond a dense forest, in which 
the shaggy bear was accustomed to roam in quest of his food ; and 
here, too, was to be found the sable, making his nightly raids upon 
the squirrels and harmless birds. The hunters and settlers need not 
go far for game. Now all this is changed, and this district is a 
quiet rural section, dotted with farms and much frequented, as 
affording fine views of the surrounding mountains. 

District No. II. — This district was taken from No. 5, and 
embraces on the east the farms of Orange Wilder, Richard East- 
man, and Ezra Darby; on the west the farms of Joseph Howe, Dan- 
iel Stebbins, and John W. Hodgdon. The first schoolhouse was 
located on the old road south of the Darby place. For some years 
Judge J. W. Weeks was the teacher in this old house. When the 
present road to Whitefield was laid out lower down the mountain, a 
new schoolhouse was built on the west side of the road, which 
remained in use until 1895, when it was abandoned and another one 
built on the north side of the road over Stebbins's hill. The farms 
on the old road high up against the western side of Mt. Prospect, 
where Twombly and Swan lived, have been abandoned and become 
grazing fields. This district is now a populous one, and a good 
school has been sustained for a number of years. 

District No. 12. — This district was taken from No. i, in 1833, 
in consequence of a large increase of pupils in the village. Instead 
of enlarging the schoolhouse, a new district was made out of that 
portion lying south of Dr. J. E. Stickney's place, now occupied by 
Kent & Roberts's store and south of the river. A schoolhouse was 
built on top of the high sandbank on the Jefferson road, on what is 
now the triangular park on Portland street, cornering on Pleasant 
street. The house was a small one, and soon became too small to 
meet the demands upon it, and an addition was put on. This dis- 
trict took in the Parson Willard place on the west, and what is now 
Elm street, and on the north side, as far as stated, including the 



414 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Reuben Stephenson place (where the Richardson block and Eagle 
block stand), and all Middle street to where George R. Bush now 
lives on the east road to the western boundary of district No. 5. 
This district was united to No. i, in 1869, to form Union School 
District, No. i. 

District No. 13. — For some years this district was known by 
this number, and had an existence as a district ; but it never had a 
schoolhouse. It embraced that section known as Page hill. It is 
now annexed to No. 3, of which it was virtually a part from 1794. 

District ]Vo. 14. — This has been described in connection with 
No. 2. It was set off in 1841. It embraces the farms where once 
lived Capt. John Weeks, Edward Spaulding, John Mclntire, and 
William Moore, a brother of Cofhn Moore. It has a schoolhouse 
on the north side of the road leading from South Lancaster to the 
village over Stebbins's hill. 

District No. 15. — As late as 1844 this district was a wilder- 
ness known as the Great Rock district. Its schoolhouse is at the 
forks of the roads which lead to the extreme east part of the town, 
and the road to Lost Nation, in Northumberland. The settlement and 
growth of this district was chiefly due to the building of mills about 
1848, on Great brook, by John Hubbard Spaulding. These mills 
are now known as Whipple's mills. It is now a highly prosperous 
section of the town, containing good farms and good citizens. The 
school now numbers about twenty-five children. 

The Town Syste?n. — Until 1885 the old district prevailed. With 
changes in the school laws of the state, and the reforms in the 
administration of the department of public instruction, the present 
town system was put into practice in Lancaster. There is much 
difference of opinion as to its advantages over the former system. 
It has secured uniformity of text-books and better supervision than 
under the district system. It is also true that better teachers are 
now employed than before, and newer methods have been intro- 
duced in instructions now given. The town district has a board of 
education, consisting of three members. The town board for the 
year 1896, are James E. Mclntire, Gilbert A. Marshall, and J. S. 
Peavy. The number of schoolhouses in the town district is 10; 
teachers employed, 10. 

UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT, NO. i. 

The Union of Districts Nos. i and 12 — The Graded School — Graded 
School Building — Relation of the Graded School with Lancas- 
ter Academy — The Lancaster High School. 

In 1869, after much discussion of the matter, districts Nos. i and 
12 were united under the name of Union School District, No. i, for 
the purpose of maintaining a graded school. The old schoolhouse 



EDUCATION. 415 

on the brow of the hill south of Isreals river was sold and the pro- 
ceeds applied to school purposes. The school was conducted in 
the old house in No. i until the present graded school building 
was erected in 1870. A graded school was then organized, and 
has steadily grown in numbers and usefulness. The records of the 
district for 1 869 are missing ; but from those of the next few years 
we glean the facts that more room was a grave question that 
caused concern to those who took an interest in the school. An 
effort was made to buy the old court-house, standing where the pres- 
ent one now does, of the county for school purposes ; but the county 
authorities refused to sell it. It was finally decided to build a suit- 
able house, and the present graded school building was the result. 
It was finished in 1870. An arrangement was entered into between 
the Union district and the Lancaster academy, by which the more 
advanced pupils of the district might take advantage of the higher 
course of study offered by the academy, the district paying for the 
same, a rate of tuition about that usually charged in high schools. 
This arrangement, with several modifications at different times, 
remained in force until the present year. At an adjourned annual 
school-meeting. May 29, 1895, the district voted "to establish and 
maintain a high school, in which the higher English branches and 
the Latin, Greek, and modern languages shall be taught." This action 
enjoined upon the board of education the necessity of organizing an 
independent high school as well as to retain the graded school here- 
tofore in existence. 

In the early period of the existence of Union District, No. i, a 
prudential committee, of from one to three members, had the super- 
vision of the school. This was later changed to a board of educa- 
tion, which at present consists of six members. 

In 1894 an effort was made to secure more room to accom- 
modate the rapidly growing grades below the high school. At first 
it was aimed to meet this demand by the enlargement of the present 
graded school building, but no vote was secured. Afterward a 
move was made to build a primary schoolhouse. This, too, failed to 
receive the support of the voters of the district. The matter of more 
room was agitated for two years, when, after several votes to build 
two primary schoolhouses were voted down, a vote was passed to 
build a high school building, to cost, when fully equipped, not over 
$35,000. Later, at a special school meeting, it was voted to rescind 
that vote. 

At the annual school meeting, March 7, 1894, Mrs. K. B. Fletcher 
was elected a member of the board of education, and enjoys the 
distinction of being the first woman to serve in that capacity in Lan- 
caster. Since then Mrs. Mary R. Kent was appointed to serve out 
a part of the term for which Hon. C. B. Jordan was elected in 1895. 



•416 . HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

She was reelected at the annual meeting in 1896; and at that time 
Mrs. Lizzie D. Buckley was elected. All these women have been 
teachers, and have experience coupled with a profound interest in 
matters of education, and have proven that women are valuable 
members of school boards. 

The school, graded and high, is now thoroughly organized with 
a force of nine teachers engaged for the next school year. A 
new course of study has been arranged by the board of educa- 
tion, and many needed reforms effected, by which the school is fully 
up to the rank of the best high and graded schools of the state. 

There were enrolled in all grades of the school last year, 398 
pupils. There was expended for the same year on the school, 
$4,936.53. The schoof revenue, including appropriation for build- 
ing, for the ensuing year, is $15,329.17. 

The board of education, elected at the last annual school-meeting, 
is as follows : 

For the term of three years, Rev. A. N. Somers, president; Mr. 
John L. Moore, secretary and treasurer. 

For two years, Mrs. Mary R. Kent and Dr. E. F. Stockwell. 

For one year, Mrs. Lizzie D. Buckley and Mr. Charles A. Howe. 

LANCASTER ACADEMY. 

Lancaster academy is one among the oldest institutions of sec- 
ondary education in the northern part of the state. It was chartered 
by a special act of the legislature, December 24, 1828, in which 
William Lovejoy, John W. Weeks, Jared W. Williams, Richard East- 
man, William Farrar, Thomas Carlisle, Samuel Pearson, Reuben, 
Stephenson, and Adino N. Brackett are named as incorporators. 
These were among the most representative men of the town at the 
time. The state granted 'certain lands as an endowment; and the 
act of its incorporation made $10,000 the limit which might be 
held in real estate and personal property. The academy was or- 
ganized February 2, 1829, with William Lovejoy, president; John 
W. Weeks, treasurer; Jared W. Williams, secretary, and the above- 
named incorporators with them as trustees. This board of trustees 
was made perpetual. The academy occupied the old court-house 
on the corner of Main and Bridge streets, from its opening until 
1830, when a new court-house was built on the site of the pres- 
ent one ; the old one ceasing to be used as a court-house, re- 
verted to the original owners of the land on which it stood, the 
land having been given to the county in 1804, to be used for a 
site for a court-house, to revert to the donors in event of its 
ceasing to be so used. The old building was given to the academy, 
and was moved upon the lot now occupied by the present acad- 



EDUCATION. 417 

emy and the Unitarian church, which had formerly been the site 
of the Httle "Old Red Gun House" of the Regiment. The building 
was enlarged by the addition of twelve feet on the front, which 
afforded dressing-, recitation-, and apparatus-rooms, and surmounted 
by a tower in which hung the little old bell that had served the 
court-house, by being mounted on a tripod in front of the building. 
The same bell now does service on the graded school building (see 
chapter on the court-houses). The work on the building was done 
by Richard Eastman, one of the trustees, who was a carpenter. 

For many years this academy was an important institution of 
learning for a large section of country. Students attended it from 
Colebrook, Maidstone, Lunenburg, St. Johnsbury, Whitefield, Little- 
ton, Bath, and Haverhill. Its classes were large, and it enjoyed the 
labors of many very able teachers. From the time of its opening 
until within thirty years, it had a patronage sufificient to enable it 
to run as an independent school ; but since the public schools have 
developed rapidly and are better organized and equipped with good 
teachers and appliances at the public cost, academies, and all other 
private schools, not amply endowed, have gradually fallen into de- 
cay, and are no longer able to compete with the free public schools 
offering equally as good advantages. Lancaster academy, having 
a very small endowment, suffered quite as badly as the average 
academy in New Hampshire for lack of patronage. 

In 1844 the records show ninety-three students, paying tuition at 
the rate of $3.50 a term, and the trustees advertising that good 
board could be had in private houses from $1 to $1.50 per week. 
Daniel C. Pinkham was then preceptor. 

At the close of the fall term of the school that year was held a 
notable exhibition, in accordance with a rule of the academy, at the 
old meeting-house on the hill, it being the last public service of any 
kind held in that building before it was moved to its present loca- 
tion on Main street. Preceptor Pinkham said of that event years 
afterward: "The belfry of the house was dilapidated, the windows 
and doors all broken down, the pews were badly damaged, and in 
every respect the house was entirely unfit for occupancy. By board- 
ing up the windows and doors, putting a stove into the body of the 
house, and running the pipe through a window, we made it — not 
comfortable, but tenantable. By the indulgence of the audience, 
we succeeded in going through with our performance to the satis- 
faction of the school and the public." This exhibition was an elab- 
orate affair, judging from the following programme furnished me by 
the late Judge B. F. Whidden a few months before his death ; and 
as it was a typical performance, in which the boys and girls of the 
school were required to take part, I reproduce it here for the benefit 
of the interested ones of the present generation and those to come. 
-7 



4i8 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



These exhibitions took place at the end of the fall term from the 
opening of the academy down to about the time of the late Civil 
War, when other interests took their place. Also in the earliest 
days of the school the students were required to visit the old meet- 
ing-house on Sundays and listen to the sermons, and on Monday 
morning make a report of them as a part of their school duties. 

EXHIBITION! 

AT THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE IN 

LANCASTER, 

Tuesday Evening Nov. 26 1844. Commencing at 5 o'clock, precisely, when will 
be performed the following pieces. 

PRAYER. 

Salutatory, H. C. Harriman. 

DIALOGUE— THE ARCHERS. 



Prince John, 
De Bracy, 

OUR SCHOOL— (Orig.) 



J. I. Williams. I Locksley, 
E. Sawyer. | Herbert, 



MUSIC. 



H. O. Kent. 
W. R. Joyslin. 

W. H. SMITH. 



RICHELIEU. A Drama. 



Louis King of France 

Richelieu 

Chavigni \ 

Latemas > Richelieti' s Party, 

Norman ) 

Count de Blenanu 

Cinq Mars 

Fontrailles J 



Oration — Orig. 



E. Brown. 

J. H. Spaulding. 

Wm. Stockwell. 

E. R. Derby. 

Curtis Bean. 

Parsons. 

Wm. H. Farrar. 

G. Stephenson. 



Duke of Orleans 
Henri de La Mothe 
Philip the woodsman 
Anne Queen of France 
Madam de Beaumonte 
Pauline de Beaumonte 
Mad'lle de Hauteford 
Louise 



Soldiers, Robbers and attendants. 
MUSIC. 

THE OMNIBUS. 



Wm. Meserve. 

Hanson. 

J. T. Bullard. 

Miss Mary Page. 

Miss Andalusia Gould. 

Miss Caroline Perry. 

Miss Mary Pinkham. 

Miss Rachael Bullard. 



J. H. Balch. 



A FARCE. 



Leger, 
Pat Rooney, 
Mr. Dobbs, 
Tom Dobbs, 

Declamation. — Orig. 



E. Brown. 

E. W. Porter. 

Wm. Meserve. 

O. G. Stephenson. 



Farrier's Boy, 
Julia Leger, 
Mrs. Dobbs, 
Ladies, &c. 



B. F. Hunking. 

Miss Harriet Blanchard. 

Miss Rachael Bullard. 



B. F. Hunking. 



music. 



Alonzo, Spanish General 
Zanga, Captive Moor, 
Carlos, Alonzo's friend, 
Manuel, Attendant. 



THE REVENGE. 
A TRAGEDY. 

Don Alvarez, a Courtier, 



J. H. Balch. 

A. B. Davis. 

E. W. Porter. 

Parsons. 



Jarius T. Bullard. 



Leonora, his Daughter, Miss Mary Pinkham. 
Isabella, Moor's Mistress, Miss Mary Page. 



MUSIC. 



EDUCATION. 



419 



Oration — Orig. • J. H. Spaulding. 

MUSIC. 

To conclude with the Comedy of 

COLLEGE LIFE! 

Dramatised by the late Judge Nelson Cross of Boston, Mass. 



Frank Webber, "j 
Capt. Power, I 

Charley O'Malley | Co 
Harry Nesbit, I s 
Cecil Cavendish, | 2 
Moore, 5" 

ist Jib, I ■ 

2d Jib, J 

Mickey Free, Servt. 
Dr. Mooney, The Purser. 



J.G 



Stephenson. 

J. H. Balch. 

A. B. Davis. 

E. Brown. 

Clemens. 

Wm. Meserve. 

White. 

C. Bean. 

E. W. Porter. 



Lord Beaumond, 
Sir Geo. Dashwood, 
Mansfield, ] rj 
Curtis, I ^ 

Melville, , ^ 
Telford, J ^ 
Serv't of Sir Geo., 



demons. 



Curtis Bean. 

O. G. Stephenson. 

Clemons. 

E. Brown. 

0. G. Stephenson. 



Miss Lucy Dashwood, Parsons. 

Miss Maccan (alias Webber), J. G. Stephenson. 



Note. — The Archers was from Scott's " Ivanhoe," — the passage of arms at Ashby, 
J. I. Williams, son of Gov. J. W. Williams of Lancaster, still resides here, and is a civil 
engineer and surveyor. Edmund Sawyer, a son of Robert Sawyer of Lancaster, for 
some years a tailor in Lancaster, died in New York, 1S56. Henry O. Kent, son of 
the late R. P. Kent of Lancaster, has had a varied and successful career as journalist, 
statesman and financier. He is now officially connected with the Lancaster Sav- 
ings bank and the Lancaster Trust Company. W. R. Joyslin, son of a Lancaster 
merchant and now a Congregational minister at Centreville, Mass. W. H. Smith 
(Uncle Bill) of Lancaster. Retired from business cares, and spends his summers in Lan- 
caster, and the winters with his son in Washington, D. C. Edmund Brown was of Lan- 
caster, now deceased. J. Hubbard Spaulding of Lancaster. He was connected with the 
Tip-Top House, on Mt. Washington, and wrote and published " Historical Relics of the 
White Mountains and a concise White Mountain Guide " in 1S56. W^illiam Stockwell, 
a grandson of Emmons Stockwell, one of the first settlers of the town, went to Califor- 
nia soon after the discovery of gold there in 1S49, ^"<i died there, or on the way there. 
Edwin R. Derby of Lancaster, a brother of Capt. John Derby, was a bookseller in Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa; died 1896. W. H. Farrar, a son of Deacon William Farrar of Lancaster, 
became a lawyer. He went to Oregon at an early date, was in Washington, D. C, dur- 
ing the war, and died in Providence Hospital there soon after the close of the war. 
John G. Stephenson, son of Reuben Stephenson of Lancaster, went to Indiana. With 
Senator H. S. Lane, he accompanied President Lincoln to Washington at the time of 
his inauguration in 1861. He was made librarian of congress, and had for an assistant 
the present incumbent of that office, A. R. Spofford. He died at Washington about ten 
years ago. J. T. Bullard, a son of Reverend Bullard, minister of the M. E. church in 
Lancaster. Miss Rachel Bullard was his sister. Mary Page was a descendant of Capt. 
David Page, one of the first settlers of the town. She married Thomas Shepherd Hall, 
and now lives in New York. Andalusia Gould was a Lancaster lady. Caroline Perry 
was a daughter of Rev. David Perry, at the time minister of the Congregational church 
in Lancaster. Mary Pinkham was a daughter of Elder Daniel Pinkham of Lancaster, 
now wife of Martin L. Burbank of Shelburne. J. H. Balch, a son of a Lancaster farmer, 
went to Louisiana as a teacher, and died there. E. W. Porter of Lancaster was many 
years with the fire department of Portland, Me. O. G. Stevenson, a brother of J. G., 
already mentioned, went to Ohio in 1S54, and later to Marshall, 111., where he still 
resides. Harriet Blanchard was a daughter of Hebar Blanchard of Lancaster ; was sec- 
ond wife of Edmund Brown, now deceased. B. F. Hunking of Lancaster, died a few 
years since. Albert Bradley Davis became an actor of note, and was for many years 
manager of McVicker's theatre in Chicago, 111. 



In 1862 the present academy building was erected at a cost of 
$2,350. Gilman Colby had the contract at that figure. The old 
building was sold for $70. A few years previous to this time a sum 
of $18,000 had been paid by the Atlantic & St. Lawrence railroad 



420 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

in default of a contract to build its road through Lancaster. This 
sum of money, after repaying certain persons for their time and 
expenses they had been to in securing the promise of the road 
through the town, was at first invested in building the old Lancaster 
House. When the hotel was sold, the proceeds were turned over to 
the academy. 

In its new building the academy has had a prosperous career up 
to within the last few years, when its patronage has been drawn from 
it through the improved condition of the public schools. Li 1878 
the academy observed its semi-centennial in an interesting manner. 
The former teachers, students, and officers assembled, and in speech, 
song, and banquet revived old memories and associations. Inter- 
esting speeches, too long to reproduce here, were made by Hon. 
B. F. Whidden, D. C. Pinkham, a former preceptor. Judge James 
W. Weeks, and Col. Henry O. Kent. These speeches were pub- 
lished in the Independent Gazette, June 12 and 19. They were 
full of reminiscences and anecdotes relating to the olden times of 
the academy. 

In 1 88 1 an arrangement was entered into between the trustees 
of the academy and the board of education of Union school dis- 
trict, No. I, by which the advanced pupils of that district might 
have the benefit of the instruction and graduation offered by the 
academy, by the payment of three and a third dollars per capita per 
term, the minimum sum of such tuition not to be less than two hun- 
dred and twenty-five dollars a year. This gave the students of both 
the same advantages on the same conditions with respect to scholar- 
ship. This contract was made for one year, with the understanding 
that it could be extended or annulled, as experience might warrant. 

This arrangement has continued in force, with some modifica- 
tions, down to the present time; By a vote of Union district. No. 
I, at its annual meeting (adjourned session) May 29, 1895, the 
board of education was instructed to organize and maintain a high 
school. This action will necessarily terminate the relation between 
the two schools as here described. 

The present board of trustees of the academy are Hon. James W. 
Weeks, president and treasurer; Hon. B. F. Whidden (deceased), 
Col. H. O. Kent, Geo. S. Stockwell, Edward Spaulding, Jared I. 
Williams, Hon. Everett Fletcher, Hon. Joseph D. Howe; Hon. E. 
Fletcher, acting secretary. 

The preceptors have been Nathaniel Wilson, Walter P. Flanders, 
William H. Hadley, Moses Johnson, Ezra E. Adams, George Bars- 
tow, Harry Hibbard, Benjamin F. Whidden, John H. Wakefield, 
EHhu T. Rowe, Moses H. White, Thomas L. Wakefield, Daniel C. 
Pinkham, Truman Ricard, Samuel A. Lord, S. E. Cummings, Adino 
J. Burbank, David R. Lang, Daniel A. Bowe, Sylvester Marsh, Har- 



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THE CHURCHES. 421 

Ian W. Page, William A. Odell, Lyman Walker, A. W. Tenney, 
O. C. Palmer, J. C. Irish, S. A. Jones, A. K. Whitcomb, Jonathan 
Smith, William W. Holman, William W. Morrill, G. C. Fisher, Rich- 
ard Sanborn, Rolfe, J. W. Armington, W, A. Burbeck, Thos. 

MacomBer, Isaac L. Rogers, F. B. Spaulding, and D. T. Timber- 
lake. 

The legislature of 1897 passed an act authorizing the acceptance 
by Union school district of the academy property — conditioned for 
the maintenance of school buildings on the old academy site and 
the designation of "Lancaster Academy and High School" for both. 
The act was ratified and the Academy and High School are now 
merged as one. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE CHURCHES. 

The First Congregational Church — The Unitarian Church — The Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church — The Baptist Church — The Roman Catho- 
lic Church — The Protestant Episcopal Church — Other Sects that 
have Preached in Lancaster. 

HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 
By Rev. Geo. H. Tilton, Pastor. 

It was customary a century ago in New England for each town 
to provide for the preaching of the gospel within its own limits. 
The early settlers of Lancaster were strong men, who did their own 
thinking and had the courage of their convictions. It could not be 
expected that they would agree perfectly respecting the doctrines of 
religion. But as the town was new and the citizens few in number, 
they could sustain only one church, for which an appropriation was 
made at each annual town-meeting. For the first few years, however, 
the neighboring towns of Guildhall and Northumberland cooperated 
with Lancaster in paying the preacher's salary, and he gave them a 
proportionate share of his time. Although several ministers preached 
in these towns each for a brief period, we know little of their history 
except that they were paid largely in produce raised on the farms. 

As early as 1786 the town of Lancaster voted "that thirty-two 
dollars be assessed to hire preaching the ensuing summer, and that 
Major Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, and Lieut. Emmons Stock- 
well be a committee to hire a minister." Money must have been 
scarce in those days, as we read that the Rev. Lathrop Thompson 
in 1787 preached six Sundays for five bushels of wheat per day. 
On the 1 8th of August, 1788, a meeting of the freeholders and other 



422 HISTORY OF LANCASTER, 

inhabitants of the town of Lancaster was held in Col. Jonas Wilder's 
barn to take action about settling a gospel minister. A committee 
was appointed for this purpose, with Colonel Wilder as chairman. 
Rev. Mr. Thompson was retained for a time, and received a vote of 
thanks from the town for his services. In 1790, Rev. Benjamin Bell 
was hired at a salary of three hundred bushels of wheat annually, 
with the privilege of three weeks' vacation. 

In 1 79 1 a Mr. Thurston preached. During that year action was 
taken with regard to building a meeting-house. A committee was 
appointed to find a suitable spot, and after reporting, were author- 
ized to lay out six acres on the " plain above tlie sand hill " as the 
meeting-house plot. 

This committee consisted of the seven following names : Cols. 
Edwards Bucknam and Jonas Wilder, Capts. John Weeks and David 
Page, Lieuts. Emmons Stockwell, Joseph Brackett, and Dennis 
Stanley. 

A plan having been adopted, the following method of raising the 
necessary funds was recommended : 

" That the pews be sold at public vendue. That each person give his note to 
the committee, who shall be authorized to receive the pay and appropriate the 
same. That the whole sum be divided into four parts, to be paid the four next 
succeeding years. That four shillings on the pound be paid in cash or salts of 
lye, and the rest in wheat at four shillings per bushel, or beef at seventeen shil- 
lings and sixpence per hundred weight, with this i^estriction, that the committee 
shall receive each man's equal proportion of timber, boards, clapboards, shingles, 
etc., if good and merchantable, and delivered when the committee shall call for 
them." 

These conditions were accepted by the people, and Lieuts. Em- 
mons Stockwell, Jeremiah Wilcox, Capt. John W^eeks, Jonas Wilder, 
Jr., and Jonas Baker were appointed as building committee. 

The meeting-house was ready for occupancy in 1794. Its site is 
known as " meeting-house hill," where it stood until 1845, when it 
was removed to the foot of the hill near Isreals river, and has since 
been used as a town hall, though the ownership is vested in the 
Masonic fraternity, by whom it has been remodeled and enlarged. 

The first settled pastor was the Rev. Joseph Willard, a broad, 
liberal-minded man, who had served in the War of the Revolution. 
He was descended from one of the best families of New England. 
His father was the Rev. John Willard, D. D., of Stafford, Conn., 
and his uncle was the Rev. Dr. Joseph Willard, president of Har- 
vard college, and his great-great-grandfather, the Rev. Samuel 
Willard, was vice-president of the same institution. His brother, the 
Rev. John Willard, was settled over the Congregational church in 
Lunenburg, Vt., in 1802, the year of its organization, and remained 
its pastor for many years. And so it happened that the two broth- 



THE CHURCHES. 423 

ers, Joseph and John, were for a long time contemporary pastors of 
neighboring churches. 

The Congregational church of Lancaster was organized on the 
17th of July, 1794, under the leadership of Parson Willard, who was 
installed as its pastor on the eighteenth of September of that year, 
the churches of Conway, Rochester, and Fryeburg, Me., being rep- 
resented in the council. 

The original members of the church were twenty-four in number, 
and their names are given as follows : Jonas^ Wilder, John Rose- 
brooks, Elisha Wilder, Joseph Brackett, Jonas Baker, Samuel Phelps, 
Nathaniel Sheperd, Phineas Bruce, Reuben Lamson, Joseph Wilder, 
Elizabeth Wilder, Mehitabel Wilder, Sarah Rosebrooks, Mary 
Brackett, Lydia Rosebrooks, Mindwell Clark, Betty Baker, La- 
vina Phelps, Deborah Weeks, Persis Everett, Elizabeth Saunders, 
Polly Wilder, Sarah Stanley, Ruth Stockwell. 

These names are appended to the short and simple creed and 
covenant, which was doubtless drawn up by Mr. Willard, who acted 
as clerk of the church till his resignation in 1822. The creed was 
sufficiently indefinite to admit to membership all who called them- 
selves Christians, whether Armenians or Calvinists, Orthodox or 
Liberals. The doctrine of the trinity is vaguely stated in the first 
article, which reads : 

" We believe in God the Father Ahiiighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in 
his Son Jesus Christ, as the sole Saviour of the world, and in the Holy Ghost, as 
the comforter and sanctifier of the people and Church of God." 

There is no doubt that this broad creed represented the broad- 
ness of the pastor's mind, and its breadth may have seemed to him 
necessary in order to include all the diverse religious views of the 
members. This latitudinarian creed, however, did not prevent the 
development of two factions within the church, the one orthodox 
and the other liberal. Mr. Willard, adhering to his liberal views, 
refrained from expounding doctrinal themes in the pulpit, and his 
mind seemed singularly free from doctrinal thoughts. For this rea- 
son his ministry was wanting in that power and aggression which 
was deemed so essential in those days. A strong creed, with a man 
of strong convictions behind it, built up many a strong church in 
those early days, for the people were trained by the great Puritan 
divines to think their thought after them. But here was a weak 
creed, vague in its doctrinal teachings, with a pastor who held lib- 
eral notions respecting some of the evangelical tenets, and the result 
was that the church lacked cohesion and strength. Notwithstand- 
ing Mr. Willard's excellent character, which every one respected, he 
failed to hold the people together, and they on their part failed to 
give him an adequate support. It was stipulated that he should 



424 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

receive fifty pounds a year to be increased to eighty pounds as soon 
as the growth of the town should warrant it. Instead of being 
increased, it gradually fell off, and he complains in his letter of res- 
ignation in 1822 : " For a number of years I have received upon an 
average considerably short of $200 per annum, which, you must 
be sensible, is far from being an adequate support." Three years 
before this he wanted to resign on account of troubles in the church, 
but was overruled by some of the members who wished him to make 
a further trial. Matters, however, grew worse rather than better. 
To quote again from his letter of resignation, — " It is unhappily the 
case that this town is very much divided in religious sentiment, one 
crying out for Paul and another for Apollos." The records of these 
years show also a deterioration in public morals. Intoxication was 
not uncommon even in the church, and one of the deacons was con- 
strained to resign on account of the " too free use of ardent spirits." 
Discipline had also to be exercised in respect of other and more 
delicate matters. No wonder that Parson Willard was discouraged ! 
He had allowed persons to come into the church on their simple 
subscription to the creed, without special inquiry into their motives, 
and the piety of the body was at a low ebb. The elements of dis- 
union which were destined a few years later to separate it into two 
rival bodies, were already at work in the congregation. 

The large and influential council which met to dissolve the pas- 
toral relation, October 16, 1822, came to the unanimous conclusion 
that Mr. Willard's request should be granted. The council found 
that " his health was much impaired, that his salary was inadequate 
to the support of a clergyman, and above all it was evident that the 
people were in a scattered, divided, and broken condition, and that 
the prospect of Mr. Willard's usefulness was very small." At the 
same time the council felt called upon to reprove the people : " It 
is not in our hearts to condemn you," they said, " but we very 
readily say that had every one done his duty, it is our opinion that 
things would not so soon have arrived to their present state." 

So far as intemperance is concerned, it should be borne in mind 
that the drinking customs of that day were different from what they 
have come to be since. Liquors were kept on the sideboard in 
almost every home where they could be afforded, and even clergy- 
men counted it no disgrace to take a friendly glass. 

At the time of Mr. Willard's dismission the church, with all its 
faults, had some members of deep and earnest piety. They deter- 
mined to meet statedly on the Lord's day and invite others to meet 
with them, and when they had no preaching, " to maintain the pub- 
lic, solemn worship of God by attending to praying, singing, and 
reading sermons, hoping to meet with a blessing from on high, and 
in this way to keep together agreeably to covenant obligations." 



THE CHURCHES. 425 

Notwithstanding her trials, this old first church was yet destined 
to be the mother of churches. From worshipers within her walls 
the Methodists were largely recruited, as were the Unitarian and 
Episcopal congregations in later years. 

After the dismissal of Mr. Willard the people sought to secure a 
new pastor without delay. Their attention was directed to the Rev. 
James R. Wheelock who, after a pastorate of four years at Newport, 
had recently been dismissed from his charge. He seemed a most 
desirable candidate, and the people after hearing him preach, gave 
him a call. In this call some of the families in Guildhall united and 
assumed part of the salary. He was to receive in all $450 a year, 
the people of Guildhall paying $113 as their portion, in considera- 
tion of which Mr. Wheelock was to preach every fourth Sunday in 
that town. In regard to the $337 to be raised by the people of 
Lancaster, it was agreed that a third should be paid in cash, and 
the remainder in wheat, rye, oats, pork, beef, butter, and cheese. 
Of the amount to be paid in Guildhall, the pastor was to be content 
with a fourth part in cash. 

In accepting the call, Mr. Wheelock asked the people to provide 
him, in addition to the sum specified, a suitable parsonage and 
twenty-five cords of hard wood, annually. To these terms he sup- 
posed the people had acceded, and so did the council which was 
called to install him, Jan. 27, 1824. But at this point an unfortu- 
nate misunderstanding occurred. Probably the people did intend 
to provide him a parsonage, for they had said as much in their letter 
of invitation ; and had the new pastor succeeded in winning the 
hearts of his people, all might have gone well. But this he failed 
to do. He was a man of fine scholarship and of upright character; 
a grandson of the first and a son of the second president of Dart- 
mouth college; and yet, before a single year had closed, he was 
constrained to ask for a dismission. The people had done nothing 
to secure him a parsonage, and virtually withheld their sympathy 
and support, complaining that he was formal and stiff in his bear- 
ing and Calvinistic in his theology. And yet, this act was one of 
the links in the chain of cause and effect. The church, as we have 
seen, was weakened by factions within itself. The liberal party 
would take no interest in Mr. Wheelock's Calvinistic views, and the 
orthodox party were too feeble to sustain him alone, and they had 
no heart to make the effort. 

The end of this unfortunate pastorate left the church feeble and 
discouraged. It is almost pitiable to see the people turn again to 
good old Parson Willard and reengage him for $150 a year, with 
the privilege of reading his old sermons. But the preaching days 
of this godly man were nearly over. He died suddenly on Sunday 
morning, July 22, 1826, and lies buried in the old cemetery, where 



426 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

a plain white marble slab marks his resting-place. His death was 
lamented by all, and his name will ever hold an honored place in 
the history of the church and the town. That the church did not 
enjoy greater spiritual prosperity during his long ministry was due 
in part to his loose theology and in part to the opposite and irrecon- 
cilable views of its members. 

For the next three years little interest was manifested, and things 
were allowed to drift. A good man of the name of Orange Scott 
came this way, a Wesleyan Methodist, who preached in the town 
church for about a year, and succeeded in gaining the good-will of 
all the people and also in strengthening the cause of Methodism in 
the town. 

The next minister was the Rev. John Fitch. Mr. Fitch resided 
in Guildhall, where he taught the Essex county grammar school, 
often spoken of in those days as the Guildhall academy, since re- 
moved to Concord, Vt. 

In 1829 the church engaged the services of the Rev. Luke A. 
Spofford, who is most honored in the person of his son, Ainsworth 
R. Spofford, the distinguished bibliographer and librarian of con- 
gress. During, his pastorate of three years, Mr. Spofford built with 
his own hands the house now occupied by Mr, Cyrus D. Allen, 
which was long used as a parsonage. 

In 1832 there was a revival in the church, owing to a protracted 
meeting, in which no less than eight of the neighboring clergymen 
took part. These meetings were directed by a Mr. Holt, who sup- 
plied the pulpit for a short time. As a result of this awakening 
more than forty persons united with the church. This made the 
outlook more hopeful than it had been for years. But there were 
breakers ahead, though scarcely visible at the time. 

One of the eight men just spoken of as assisting in the revival 
was the Rev. Andrew Govan, a Scotchman from Barnet, Vt. The 
people liked him and called him to the vacant pastorate. Though 
he was eccentric and a rigid Calvinist, he had a strong personality, 
and the church was much quickened during his three years' pastor- 
ate. He labored hard to stiffen the old creed in the interests of 
Calvinism. He was especially anxious to emphasize the doctrine of 
regeneration by inserting the words of Titus 3:5, — "He saved us 
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy 
Ghost." The liberal party strongly opposed this revision of the 
creed, and succeeded in fighting it off. This movement, obstinately 
pressed by Mr. Govan, and persistently resisted by the liberals, 
resulted in the discomfiture of the former, who was constrained to 
resign August 25, 1835. Twenty-seven had joined the church dur- 
ing his pastorate of three years. 

The orthodox members now resolved to secede from the church, 



THE CHURCHES. 427 

which they did under the leadership of the Rev. Edward Buxton, a 
young man just beginning his ministerial work. On Friday, Sep- 
tember 23, 1836, thirty-eight members of the church convened in 
the court-house and drew up and signed a strong Calvinistic creed, 
in which all the evangelical doctrines were stated unequivocally. 
The article on the Trinity was changed so as to read as follows : 

" We believe that God is revealed in the Scriptures, as the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Ghost, and that these three are one, and in all divine attributes 
equal." 

This action of the church was ratified by a council which met 
October 12, 1836, and thus was formed 

THE ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF LANCASTER. 

The new creed was signed by the following persons : William 
Farrar, Porter G. Freeman, John Wilson, Horace Whitcomb, John 
C. Howe, John Wilder, Ephraim Wilder, James Stone, Samuel L. 
Whidden, Oilman Wilder, Edmund C. Wilder, Daniel Stebbins, 
Edward Spaulding, John Stalbird, Sarah Cady, Persis Everett, Edna 
Porter, Elizabeth Smith, Olive B. Holkins, Mehitabel Wilder, Mary 
S. H. Stickney, Tryphena Farrar, Abigail A. Bergin, Lucinda Baker, 
Catharine J. Whitcomb, Lydia Howe, Mercy Freeman, Mary N. 
Whidden, Rhoda Wilder, Sophronia Denison, Rebecca Denison, 
Ruth E. George, Harmony Moore, Amanda Stebbins, Sarah Ann 
Moore, Mary Jane Moore, Sarah White, Lydia Bellows, Martha Phil- 
lips, Anna Bergin, Louisa Stebbins, Persis Fayette Weeks, Julia J. 
Joslyn, Sally B. Stalbird, Ann L. Whidden, and Clarissa Hemenway. 

At the meeting of the council the following article relating to tem- 
perance was adopted and put on record : 

"In view of the evils brought upon the community and upon the church by the 
use of distilled liquors, we promise to abstain wholly from the use and sale of 
them, except as a medicine." 

It is needless to relate ihe excitement and bitter personal feeling 
which followed this act of secession, or to mention the gulf of sepa- 
ration between the mother church and the seceders which required 
seven years to bridge over. The seceders, in order to justify them- 
selves in their unwonted course, requested Dea. William Farrar, a 
lawyer by profession, to draw up a paper setting forth the reasons 
therefor, and this is the substance of what he prepared : 

" In our judgment such a step was required of us that we might be faithful to 
the Saviour, to whom we feel bound by the highest possible obligations. The 
grounds of these obligations we believe to be set forth in the following funda- 
mental doctrines of the Gospel : 

" The sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners ; the divinity of Christ, by 
which he thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; the atonement which he 



42 8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

made for the sins of the world, by suffering in the sinner's stead, the just for the 
unjust ; the total destitution of the human heart by nature of true holiness ; the 
necessity of a radical, instantaneous change of the disposition of the heart from 
sin to holiness by the special influences of the Holy Spirit in order to salvation ; 
and that the present life is the only period in which any of the human race may 
receive the grace of regeneration, which is essential to salvation. 

" Such being our view of the Christian doctrines, from which we infer that men 
should honor the Son even as they honor the Father, how could we remain in a 
situation in which we should be compromising with those who either reject or 
lightly esteem these doctrines? While systematic and persevering efforts are mak- 
ing to introduce into the churches a system of faith which rejects these doctrines, 
we could not be satisfied with anything short of a full and unequivocal declaration 
of them. The light which is to guide souls to heaven must be held forth dis- 
tinctly. 

"How could we retain our membership in a church in which the fundamental 
doctrines of the Gospel were so obscurely stated or implied in the articles of faith 
that they were constantly subscribed by persons who entirely rejected them? The 
church had refused to incorporate into its articles a smgle verse of Scripture 
[Titus 3 :5] expressing the necessity of regeneration and the sovereignty of God 
in the salvation of sinners. 

" Now when we saw that this state of things caused error to prevail and the 
love of many to wax cold, and that some in the church were assisting to raise a 
standard which we believe to be another Gospel; and when, in fine, we were per- 
suaded that said church could not be extricated from such a state of things under 
the existing organization, was it not to be expected that we should earnestly desire 
to be reorganized? As we could see no way to accomplish this result without 
secession from the said church, we have therefore seceded from it and formed our- 
selves into a new church, known by the name of 

"THE ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN LANCASTER." 

As we might expect in such a condition of things there was grief 
as well as bitterness. There were those who deeply regretted this 
division in the Congregational body and one or two spasmodic ef- 
forts were made for a re-union. To this end we find recorded a 
meeting of the mother church on the i6th of March, 1837, ^^ which 
a committee was appointed to see if a union could not be brought 
about. Among the prominent male members of the old church at 
this time were Richard Eastman, Adino N. Brackett, Gorham Lane, 
Charles Baker, John Mason and Seth Savage. Nothing came of this 
movement and no further action was taken for several 3^ears. Only 
time and the grace of God could soften the asperities of temper and 
heal the hearts so sorely wounded. Meanwhile the new church 
moved on under the leadership of good men and in 1839 a church 
edifice was commenced. The mother church soon ceased to hold 
meetings owing to the impossibility of maintaining a separate organ- 
ization. 

Mr. Buxton, who had led the secession movement of the new 
church, accepted a call to Boscawen (now Webster) where he spent 
the remainder of his life, preaching his forty-fifth anniversary ser- 
mon in 1882. 



THE CHURCHES. 429 

After him came the Rev. C. W. Richardson, who preached for a 
short time, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Burke, a 
young man from Woodstock, Vt., who was here during the building 
of the new meeting-house, and preached the sermon at its dedication. 
He was regarded as an able preacher but failing health soon com- 
pelled him to withdraw from the ministry. The new church edifice 
was completed and ready for occupancy in 1840. The names of the 
building committee were Gen. John Wilson, Presbury West, and 
Solomon Hemenway. The Rev. Clark Perry, a man remembered 
chiefly for his pro-slavery principles, next supplied the pulpit. 
His health soon gave way and his brother, the Rev. David Perry of 
HoUis, took his place in accordance with an invitation of the church 
uuderthe date of April 14, 1843. He labored earnestly to bring 
the two alienated churches together again, and in a union meeting, 
held November 20, 1843, the following resolutions were adopted: 

Resolved: That we deeply deplore the division, and consequent alienation of 
feeling among those in this place who profess love to the Saviour, and are in 
principle Congregationalists. 

Resolved: That to evince our sincere desire for the restoration of peace and 
Christian feeling, on honorable and Christian principles, we hereby certify our 
willingness to disband the church organization to which we respectively belong, 
and submit, if necessary, the principles on which a new organization shall be 
formed, to a council mutually chosen. 

All the members of the old church and all but seven of the new 
church were in favor of this plan. 

Accordingly a clerical council was called which advised the re- 
union on the basis of a new and modified creed, a compromise 
between the first and the second. In this third creed the doctrine 
of the Trinity is expressed as follows : 

" We believe that in these Scriptures there is revealed a distinction in the 
Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that this distinction though in- 
comprehensible to us, is yet perfectly consistent with the Unity of the Divine 
Being." 

These articles of faith were adopted December 29, 1843, and 
sixteen members of the old church were added to the new organiza- 
tion. Seven of the seceeding members at first refused to sign the 
new statement of belief but subsequently all came into harmony. 
The creed has stood unchanged to this day. Thus were the two 
churches quietly dissolved into a third. For a time the old differ- 
ences seemed to be adjusted, and during Mr. Perry's pastorate there 
was but little friction. Still the reconciliation was but superficial; 
the original causes of discord slumbered deep within the body, and 
the day of final and irrevocable separation was only postponed. 
Mr. Perry was dismissed January 20, 1847. " He was an energetic 
man with a good spice of self-appreciation in his nature." 



430 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

After a time the church agreed to call the Rev. Stephen A. Bar- 
nard, who began his ministry here May 9, 1847. M^. Barnard had 
been a Unitarian minister, and was ordained in that church at Wilton 
in 1830. Finding, as he said, that men were not converted by vague 
teachings, he became a Congregationalist. While here it would 
seem that he preached what are known as the evangelical doctrines ; 
yet one can hardly avoid the feeling that his mind was biased in 
favor of Unitarian views. At any rate the Unitarian element in the 
church gained in strength and boldness during his seven years' pas- 
torate, and that party appeared to be satisfied with his statement of 
religious doctrines. It was feared by the orthodox members that 
the liberal party would make an effort to seize the church property, 
and in order to forestall such an attempt, they took action them- 
selves as quietly as possible, and on the 30th of July, 1852, John 
W. Lovejoy, Porter G. Freeman, and others met and formed them- 
selves into a corporate society under the name of 

THE LANCASTER ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH SOCIETY. 

This action caused bitter feeling, and the Unitarian party hoped 
even then to get possession of the church property. After Mr. 
Barnard's dismission May 29th, 1853, they were suf^ciently influ- 
ential to secure preachers of their own order to supply the pulpit. 
The contest became exciting as well as bitter. On the first of Jan- 
uary, 1854, the liberals hired the Rev, George M. Rice, a Unitarian 
minister, to supply the pulpit for an indefinite period. This was 
more than the orthodox party could stand ; they felt that the church 
was rapidly drifting away from sound principles. A crisis was inev- 
itable. Mr. Rice had preached six successive Sundays; it was 
now the second Sunday in February; on that day Dea. Seth Adams 
rose in the meeting and announced that the Rev. Isaac Weston of 
Cumberland, Me., would occupy the pulpit the following Sabbath. 
The day came and Horace Whitcomb, a strong man of military 
bearing, was stationed near the pulpit to see that Mr. Weston was 
not interfered with. There the two ministers met, each expecting 
to preach. It was a critical moment, but through the courtesy of 
Mr. Weston, it was arranged that Mr. Rice should occupy the pul- 
pit in the morning and he in the afternoon. 

Now came the final separation ; and this separation was the nat- 
ural culmination of divisive ideas and forces which had been operat- 
ing for half a century. From that time the two streams of tendency 
flowed on in separate channels. The Unitarians held their services 
in the court-house with Mr. Rice as preacher till they could build 
a church of their own. 

A few of those who went off with Mr. Rice soon returned as they 
disliked his constant preaching on the subject of slavery. Still the 




Episcopal Church and Rectokv 



(I iilT 



CoN(,Ki-(..vi loNAi, Church, 1841. 





Congregational Church. 

Remodeled 1S9S. 



THE CHURCHES. 43 I 

church was crippled and its numbers small ; it was obliged to call 
on the Home Missionary Society for aid. Mr. Weston's labors 
with the church closed September 24, 1854. During most of the 
■following year, the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. E. B. Chamber- 
lain, who afterwards married Miss Mary Jane Moore of this town. 
Mr. Chamberlain introduced to the people the Rev. Prescott Fay, a 
young man from Andover seminary who was ordained and installed 
over the church in March, 1856. During this year several families 
came over from South Guildhall and greatly strengthened the 
church. Before Mr. Fay left. May 15, 1865, the people had become 
independent of Home Missionary aid, and gave gifts in return. Mr. 
Fay's nine years' pastorate covered the trying period of the Civil 
War. On the whole the church was prosperous and a good number 
of converts were received to membership. During the revival of 
1848, no less than forty-nine members were added to the church, 
twenty-six of them at one time, Sunday, July 4th of that year. 

Mr. Fay was born in Westboro, Mass., December 8, 1826. Since 
leaving Lancaster he has had several pastorates East and West and 
is now preaching at Quechee, Vt. 

Upon the departure of Mr. Fay, the church immediately procured 
the services of the Rev. Henry V. Emmons, who was installed Sep- 
tember 27, 1865. Like his predecessor he came with his young 
bride, having married Annie, daughter of Prof. George Shepherd of 
Bangor, Me., September 6, 1865. Mr. Emmons won the love and 
confidence of the people in a high degree. Soon after he came the 
meeting-house was repaired and renovated at considerable expense. 
, The growth of the church during his pastorate was in character 
rather than in numbers, although some were added to its member- 
ship. During this time the Y. M. C. A. was organized in town and 
some of the members of this church became active workers therein ; 
meetings were held all through the town at the various schoolhouses 
— as at Great Rock, Spaulding Neighorhood, South Lancaster, 
Brick Schoolhouse, and in the then vacant Baptist church. 

Mr. Emmons was the son of the Hon. William Emmons of Frank- 
lin, Mass. He was born at Augusta, Me., November 3, 1832 ; was 
graduated at Amherst college in 1854, and Bangor Theological 
seminary in 1859. After an absence of nineteen years, he writes of 
his charge here: — " My nine years' stay (our stay) at Lancaster, 
was full of pleasant intercourse with a people to whom we were 
warmly attached and the memory of it is very dear. They — all 
of whom come before us at a moment's recollection — live yet in our 
hearts and make us a part of what we are. To me they were 
always generous, considerate, kindly, faithful, and my heart kindles 
with prayerful desires for their welfare." 

There is one virtue which pertains to this church as commenda- 



432 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ble as it is rare, it has always avoided hearing a long list of candi- 
dates; Mr. Emmons succeeded Mr. Fay without a break, and so 
did Mr. Charles E. Harrington succeed Mr. Emmons, and so it has 
been to the present time ; in each case the church selected its man, 
heard him preach and gave him a call. The Rev. Mr. Harrington 
was ordained and installed as pastor of this church October 27, 

1874, and Mr. Emmons was dismissed by the same council. Mr. 
Emmons is now settled at Kittery Point, Maine. 

Mr. Harrington remained with the church until Feb. 24, 1878, on 
which da}' he preached his farewell sermon to a crowded house. 
And on April 18, 1878, he was installed as pastor of the South 
Congregational church in Concord. The church never had a more 
popular pastor than Mr. Harrington. Strong, genial, and faithful 
to his charge, he easily won all hearts. The parsonage at No. 7 
Summer street was erected for his occupancy in the summer of 

1875, Seneca Congdon taking the contract for $2,600. 

As Mr. Harrington was a power for righteousness here, so he has 
been elsewhere. He was born in Concord, Oct. 5, 1846, of sturdy 
Puritan stock. He received a thorough academic education, grad- 
uated at Bangor Theological seminary, and was chaplain in the 
New Hampshire legislature in 1881. From Concord he went to 
Dubuque, Iowa, where he was pastor of the First Congregational 
church for three years. From Dubuque he was called to the First 
church in Keene where he remained till the autumn of 1893, when 
ill health compelled his resignation. He is now traveling in Europe. 
He has preached and lectured in many places and on many themes, 
particularly temperance, of which he is a strong advocate. He re- 
ceived the degree of D. D. from Iowa college in 1889. 

Mr. Harrington was succeeded by the Rev. Charles E. Sumner, 
who began his labors here May i, 1878, and ministered to the peo- 
ple about three years, until March 3, 1881, when his health became 
impaired and he was unable to fulfil the duties of his office. He 
was a kind, good man, and a faithful pastor, and his affliction was a 
grief to many friends. He has recently supplied the pulpit of the 
Congregational church at Alton Bay, and at the present time is at 
Brooklyn, Conn. 

The next pastor of the church was the Rev. Sydney A. Burnaby, 
a graduate from Bangor Theological seminary, who was ordained 
and installed here Sept. 21, 1881, Dr. S. C. Bartlett preaching the 
sermon. During I\Ir. Burnaby's pastorate of ten years, a debt was 
cleared from the parsonage, and about $1,400 raised in 1886-87 for 
improvements on the meeting-house. He was active in organizing 
the local Y. P. S. C. E. and held preaching services on each alter- 
nate Sunday at the Grange. He was dismissed Sept. 29, 1891, and 
is now pastor of the church at Southbridge, Mass. 



THE CHURCHES. 433 

The present pastor, Rev. Geo. H. Tilton, was installed over the 
church Dec. 8, 1891, and dismissed 1896. 

DEACONS OF THE CHURCH. 

Jonas Baker, chosen May 20, 1796. Resigned Nov. i, 1820. 
Land surveyor. 

Samuel Phelps, chosen 'Slay 20, 1796. Revolutionary pensioner. 
Resided in Guildhall, Vt. 

Joseph Wilder, chosen May 4, 1800. 

Elias Chapman, chosen Oct. 30, 1801. Died July 18, 1836. 

Reuben VV. Freeman, chosen June 4, 1813. Died June 27, 1866. 
Resided in Guildhall, Vt. 

Porter G. Freeman, chosen Nov. 27, 1823. Died Aug. 18, 1866. 

William Farrar, chosen Sept. 23, 1836. Lawyer. Leader of the 
choir. 

Gilman Wilder, chosen May 3, 1844. 

Seth Adams, chosen March 17, 1854. Died July, 1883. 

Azro Burton, chosen Oct. i, 1876. Resides in Guildhall, Vt. 

William P. Freeman, chosen Oct i, 1876. 

N. H. Richardson, chosen assistant deacon Oct. 5, 1885. 

July 17, 1894, the church celebrated its looth anniversary in the 
same building in which it began its work, it being at this time the 
property of the Masonic fraternity, and used for business purposes, 
as a town hall, and for Masonic apartments. A large concourse of 
people were in attendance. There were present many of its former 
pastors and friends from other towns and states. The occasion was 
graced by the presence of His Excellency, Hon. John B. Smith, 
governor, who delivered a practical, scholarly address on the his- 
tor}' of Congregationalism. C. B. Jordan welcomed the people 
back to their old home. Rev. C. H. Tilton gave the substance of 
the foregoing history. Henry O. Kent, Deacon William P. Free- 
man, and others spoke in a reminiscent mood. Pastors of neighbor- 
ing churches, offshoots from this, brought good tidings and good 
cheer. A most sumptuous banquet had been provided by the ladies, 
and sweet singing from the sweetest of our singers inspired every 
heart. On the platform sat three men who had sat under the 
preaching of Parson Willard and of every preacher of the church 
since his time. The day was a most enjoyable one. In the even- 
ing the church was filled and the exercises there continued to be of 
interest. Deacon Dwight Carleton gave an excellent historical ad- 
dress ; ministers of the town's churches extended congratulations, the 
choir rendered some of the old-time h}'mns, and when at a late hour 
the services were closed, all felt that the Congregational church had 
not existed in vain, and that the toils of her people had not been 
altogether fruitless. 
28 



434 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
By Rev. D. C. Babcock. 

Conferences were first named in 1800, and presiding elders dis- 
tricts in 1 801. The New England Conference was set off from the 
New York in 1799, and held its first session in Lynn, Mass., July 8, 
1800. It included all of New England except that part of Connec- 
ticut west of the Connecticut river. 

The Landaff circuit, which extended from Rumney to Upper 
Coos, on both sides of the White Hills, made its first appearance in 
the Minutes of 1801, and included Lancaster. It was then on the 
New London district, with John Broadhead, presiding elder, and 
Elijah R. Sabin, circuit preacher. 

Laban Clark was born in Haverhill, N. H., in 1778, and moved 
to Vermont at an early age. He became a Methodist, and began to 
preach in 1799. He was associated with John Langdon, evidently 
an older man, and one of the founders of Methodism in Vermont. 
In the summer of 1800 those two men crossed the river from Lun- 
enburg and held a service, probably at the Emmons Stockwell 
place, west of the fair ground. Mr. Langdon preached and Clark 
exhorted. Mr. Clark says: "We were now able to form a class of 
from fifteen to twenty." We thus infer that there had been previous 
efforts to organize a society. Some days later, Langdon, Clark, 
and Rosebrook Crawford were assailed by a mob. " The rabble 
cowered before the courage of Langdon, who was a gigantic and 
brave man, but carried off Rosebrook Crawford and ducked him in 
the river." He was warned not to hold any more meetings in Lancas- 
ter, but persisted in spite of repeated warnings and harsh treatment. 
His brother Joseph also preached in Lancaster. It was under one 
of his sermons that Mrs. Benjamin Bishop was awakened and con- 
verted. Her husband was then " an intemperate blacksmith." As 
we have noticed above, E. R. Sabin was in charge of Landaff cir- 
cuit in 1801. Under his preaching Benj. Bishop was converted. 
He became a preacher, and joined the New England Conference in 
1804. His wife became widely known as " a powerful exhorter." 

Opposition to Methodist preaching in Lancaster was no doubt 
largely due to the fact that " Parson Willard," of the town church, 
was supported by a tax, and other denominations were regarded as 
intruders on vested rights. It may also be noted that differences in 
doctrine then caused much bitterness, and that many of the Metho- 
dists were noisy and some of them ranters. 

Benjamin Bishop was a brother of Mrs. Lieutenant Dennis Stan- 
ley, who then lived in what is now Captain Beattie's farmhouse. 
Lieutenant Stanley was grandfather of Judge James W. Weeks. 
Methodist meetings were held at Lieutenant Stanley's house, and 



THE CHURCHES. 435 

that no doubt helped to give them standing. In this connection we 
notice that the journal of Jesse Lee says: " Saturday, Sept. 6, l8oo, 
we set out early in the morning, and rode out to the Connecticut 
river, at the Northumberland meeting-house ; there I left my com- 
panion and rode down the river through Lancaster and Dalton." 
That was Lee's last tour through New England. He had entered 
upon his work in New England eleven years before, and now left it 
with eighty preachers, fifty circuits, and ten thousand members. 
That was a good record for one decade of labor. 

In 1802 Landaff circuit was on the Vershire, Vt., district, with 
John Broadhead presiding elder, and Phineas Peck and Martin Ruter, 
circuit preachers. In 1803 Landaff was on the Vermont district. 
Joseph Crawford was presiding elder, and T. Branch, P. Dustin, and 
S. Langdon, circuit preachers. In i8o4-'o5 Landaff was on the 
New Hampshire district, and John Broadhead was presiding elder. 
Thomas Skeel and William Stevens were the circuit preachers in 
1804, and Joel Winch and Asa Kent in 1805. In 1806 Landaff 
was again on the Vermont district, with E. R. Sabin presiding elder, 
and Asa Kent and Isaac Pease circuit preachers. In i8o7-'o8 Lan- 
daff was again on the New Hampshire district, with Elijah Hedding 
(afterwards a bishop), presiding elder, and Dyer Burge and E. F. 
Newell, preachers in 1807, and Zacharia Gibson in 1808. Martin 
Ruter was presiding elder in i8o9-'io, and Joseph Peck preacher. 
David Crowell was on the circuit with Mr. Peck in 18 10. Solomon 
Sias was presiding elder in i8ii-'i4. John W. Hardy and Joseph 
Peck were the preachers in 181 1 ; Robert Hayes and James Jaques 
in 1812; Jacob Sanborn and Benjamin Burnham in 18 13; and J. 
Emerson, J. Payne, and D. Blanchard in 18 14. From 1807 to 18 14, 
Lunenburg was in the New Hampshire district. David Kilburn was 
presiding elder in 18 15-': 8. Jacob Sanborn and John Lord were 
on Landaff circuit in 181 5 ; Walter Sleeper and Hezekiah Davis in 
1 8 16; Jacob Sanborn in 1817, and Lewis Bates and Samuel Norris 
in 1818. Jacob Sanborn was presiding elder in i8i9-'22, and 
Lewis Bates and Richard Emerson were on Landaff circuit in 18 19, 
the year before the Lancaster circuit was formed. 

During the winter of i8i6-'i7, "Mother Hutchings " of White 
field, whose husband was employed at Lancaster, got the privilege 
of speaking in the town church, as Mr Willard was away. Her 
address produced "a great sensation." The next day, during a call 
at the house of Daniel Perkins, who lived on the old road at the 
northwest base of Mount Prospect, Mrs. Perkins was so impressed 
that she " lost her strength," but was soon restored. A powerful 
revival followed these efforts. Among the converts was Miss Ada- 
line Perkins, who became the wife of Allen Smith. They were 
among the founders of the Lancaster Methodist Episcopal church. 



436 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Mrs. Smith was born in 1800, and lived till the 13th of November, 
1 89 1. She had been a devoted Christian and earnest Methodist 
for seventy-four years, and was highly esteemed by all who knew 
her. She was buried from her late residence on Main street, on 
Sunday afternoon, November 15, by the writer of this sketch. 

Lancaster circuit made its appearance in the Minutes of the New 
England Conference in 1820, with David Culver as preacher in 
charge that year. Local history records a " Quarterly Meeting " 
held in the town church in the winter of i8i9-'20. Rev. Jacob 
Sanborn, the presiding elder, preached to a crowded house. Being 
detained by a heavy snowstorm, he held meetings during the week, 
which resulted in many conversions, Charles Baker was the 
preacher in i82i,and Charles Baker and James Norris in 1822. 
Benjamin R. Hoyt was presiding elder in i823-'25. James B. 
H. Norris and N. S. Spaulding were the preachers in 1823 ; Benja- 
min Brown and Nathan Howe in 1824, and Rowse B. Gardner 
in 1825. 

The Danville, Vt., district was formed in 1826, and Lancaster 
placed on it. John Lord was presiding elder in i826-'28, and E. 
Wells in 1829; Roswell Putnam and David Stickney were on Lan- 
caster circuit in 1826; Orange Scott and Joseph Baker in 1827; 
Orange Scott, Nathan W. Scott, and M. G. Cass in 1828, and Has- 
kell Wheelock and Holman Drew in 1829. Orange Scott spent all 
his time in Lancaster in 1828, and occupied the town church, as no 
successor to Mr. Willard, deceased, had then been selected. Mr. 
Scott was an able and effective preacher, and did much to advance 
the cause of God, and remove prejudice from Methodism. 

The New Hampshire and Vermont Conference was set off 
from the New England in 1830, and Lancaster was placed on 
the Plymouth district. Lunenburg, Vt., was included in the Lan- 
caster circuit. John W. Hardy was presiding elder in i830-'3i. 
Haskell Wheelock and William McKoy were the preachers in 
1830, and Caleb Lamb and Russell H. Spaulding in 1831. 

The First Methodist Episcopal Society of Lancaster, N. H., 
was organized in July, 1831. The following names are attached to 
the constitution, in the record book, in the hand-writing of the sub- 
scribers : 

Wm. W. Chapman, Harvey Adams, Abel Leavens, Jr., Joseph 
Howe, Allen Smith, John Aspenwall, David Stockwell, Samuel F. 
Spaulding, William Peck, Ezra Kenison, Samuel Mclntire, S. P. 
Williams, G. C. Philbrook, Alvah Twombly, Isaac N. Cotton, Ben- 
jamin Adams, John Stockwell, James Mardin, John Smith, Benj. 
Wentworth, Benaiah Colby, Joseph Wentworth, Shackford Went- 
worth, Frederick Fisk, Daniel Field, George Howe, William Pear- 
son, Shepard Knights, John H. Meserve. 



THE CHURCHES. 437 

During the fall and winter of that year, 1831, a parsonage was 
built on Middle street, on land donated by Harvey Adams. An 
exhorter, familiarly known as " Brother Dike," originated and car- 
ried on that enterprise. That house was used as a parsonage till 
1870. It stands on the north side of the street, east of the 
M. C. R. R., two lots from Fletcher street as it now is. 

In 1832 the name of the conference became "The New Hamp- 
shire Conference," but with no change of territory. The Vermont 
conference was set off from the New Hampshire in 1845. E. Wells 
was presiding elder of Plymouth district in i832-'35. William Peck 
and E. T. Manning were on Lancaster circuit in 1832; William 
Peck, J. H. Stevens, and N. O. Way in 1833, and Sylvester P. Will- 
iams and Abel Heath in i834-'35. ^'^^'- Williams is remembered as 
"a strong man" by some of the aged people of Lancaster. The 
first Methodist Episcopal church edifice was erected during his pas- 
torate. His name and that of William Peck are in the list of sub- 
scribers to the constitution in 1831. The records of that time show 
that on the 4th of February, 1834, Harvey Adams, Joseph Howe, 
and Allen Smith were chosen a committee to " ascertain the practi- 
cability of building a Methodist chapel in this village." They were 
subsequently appointed a building committee. A draft was pre- 
pared by the preacher in charge, and a house built, the cost of 
which was probably somewhat above $1,000. The dimensions of 
the chapel were 40 x 60 feet, with 16-foot posts. We find no refer- 
ence in the records to the dedication of that house, which was on 
the site of the present church edifice. 

B. R. Hoyt was again presiding elder in i836-'39. D. Field and 
C. Olin were on Lancaster circuit in 1836; D. Field and Erastus 
Pettingill in 1837; L.Hill and J.A.Gibson in 1838; and Amos 
Kidder in 1839. In 1840 Charles D. Cahoon was presiding elder, 
and John Smith pastor at Lancaster. 

The Haverhill district appears in 1841 with C. D. Cahoon presid- 
ing elder in i84i-'43. Erasmus B. Morgan was pastor at Lancaster 
in i84i-'42, and James G. Smith in 1843. Justin Spaulding was 
presiding elder in 1 844, and Russell H. Spaulding in 1 845-'49. A. T. 
Bullard was pastor in i845-'46; H. H. Hartwell in i846-'47, and 
Henry Hill in 1848 and to the spring of 1850. 

In 1849 the New Hampshire Conference met in Lancaster, 
Bishop L. L. Hamline presiding. On conference Sunday Bishop 
Hamline preached, standing in a window on the north side of the 
church. His text was " Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord." The 
house was filled with ladies, and a great throng stood and sat on the 
hillside of what is now known as "the old cemetery." 

Reuben Dearborn was presiding elder in i850-'53. J. W. Guern- 
sey was pastor in i850-'5i, and L. L. Eastman in i852-'53. Wil- 



438 HISTORY OF LANCASTER, 

Ham D. Cass was presiding elder in i854-'55, and Josiah Hooper, a 
transfer from Maine, was pastor those years. 

Haverhill district disappeared in 1856, and Lancaster was placed 
on the Concord district, with Lewis Howard presiding elder in 
i856-'59. James Adams was stationed at Lancaster in 1856, and 
Lewis P. Cushman in i857-'58. His pastorate is notable because 
of a great revival which stirred the entire place. The pastors of the 
Congregational and Methodist churches worked together with excel- 
lent results. During the latter year the church building was 
remodeled. The floor was leveled, new pews were put in and the 
number increased, the gallery was removed, an orchestra built, and 
the walls papered. A tower with spire was erected, and a new 
entrance and vestibule constructed. The cost of the repairs and 
improvements was $1,500. The rededication occurred in Sep- 
tember, 1858, a sermon being preached on the occasion by Rev. 
J. H. Twombly, D. D., of Boston. 

Elijah R. Wilkins was pastor in i859-'6o, and George N. Bryant 
fn i86l-'62. James Pike was presiding elder in i86i-'62. During 
1862 he became colonel of the Sixteenth New Hampshire regi- 
ment, and William D. Cass filled out that year. Elisha Adams 
was presiding elder in i863-'66, and L. D. Barrows in i86y-'68. 
Simeon P. Heath was stationed in Lancaster in i863-'65 and D. J, 
Smith in i866-'68. 

The White Mountain district was formed in the spring of 1869, 
and continued till 1871, with D. J. Smith as presiding elder, when 
its territory w'as again merged in the Concord district. Charles H. 
Smith was pastor at Lancaster those years. In 1870 a new parson- 
age was erected on High street at a cost of about ^^4,000. 

S. G. Kellogg was presiding elder in 1 871 -'73, and Otis Cole 
pastor. T. L. Flood was presiding elder in 1874; James Pike in 
i875-'76; and J. W. Adams in i877-'8o. James Noyes was pastor in 
1874-75, and N. M. Bailey in i876-'78. On the 9th of April, 1878, 
the New Hampshire Conference began its second session in Lancas- 
ter, Bishop S. M. Merrill, D. D., presiding. It was greeted with what 
is known as " the great fire," on the first day of the session, and the 
ministers rendered efificient service in staying its ravages. M. T. 
Cilley was presiding elder in i88i-'84; G. W. Norris in i885-'89. 
S. C. Keeler, the present incumbent, began his term in April. 1890. 
D.J. Smith was pastor, for a second term, in i879-'8i. He was 
followed by W. E. Bennett in i882-'83,and he by A. C. Coult in 
i884-'86. 

Rev. J. A. Bowler began his three years' pastorate in the old 
church in April, 1887, and in the spring of 1888 it was decided to 
build a new church on the site of the one which had done such good 
service for fifty-four years. Plans were drawn by George H. Guern- 



THE CHURCHES, 439 

sey of Montpelier, Vt. A building committee, consisting of Rev. 
J. A. Bowler, Charles Smith, and M. E. Hartford, was chosen, and 
May 27, 1888, the last service was held in the old church. The 
pastor preached a farewell sermon from Haggai ii, 3 and 9. "Who 
is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?" "The 
glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith 
the Lord of hosts." The old church was sold and removed in two 
parts, one of which is located on Bunker Hill avenue and the other 
on Cemetery street and both are finished into tenements. 

The new church was dedicated on Wednesday, March 20, 1889. 
The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Charles Parkhurst, 
D. D., editor of Zioii's Herald, Boston, from Hebrews viii, 5. 
Addresses were made by Revs. Henry Hartwell and W. E. Bennett, 
former pastors, and congratulatory letters from several other former 
pastors were read. The building was presented by W. E. Bullard, 
chairman of the board of trustees, and dedicated by Rev. G. W. Norris, 
presiding elder of Concord district, assisted by Rev. J. E. Robins, 
presiding elder of Claremont district, and a number of ministers who 
were present. The pastor announced that the cost of the building, 
exclusive of a considerable amount of labor which had been given, 
was $7,800, and that $1,500 were necessary in addition to the sub- 
scriptions already made. This amount was subscribed during the 
afternoon and evening. 

The extreme dimensions of the church are 79 and 55 feet. It is 
lighted by a Wheeler reflector having sixteen lamps. The glass of 
the rose windows is from the works of Redding, Baird & Co., of 
Boston ; the children's window and thd other windows of leaded 
work are from the works of Samuel West, Boston. The bell weighs 
1,325 pounds and was cast by the Cincinnati Bell Foundry Co. 
The pews were manufactured by the Globe Furniture Co., North- 
ville, Mich. Contributions for memorial windows were made by 
William H. Clark for Allen Smith, Emmons Smith for Adaline 
Smith, George Lovejoy for his father, Daniel Green for his parents, 
S. H. LeGro for his parents, Mrs. A. C. Russell for her father, Jos- 
eph D. Howe and sister for their parents. Windows were also 
placed by the Webb and Bullard families and the children of the 
Sunday-school. 

Mr. Bowler issued a neat pamphlet in 1S89, entitled "Methodism 
in Lancaster," from which we have culled in preparing this sketch. 
It contains cuts of the old church as it was in 1858, after it was 
rebuilt, and of the present edifice. 

D. C. Babcock began a three years' term in April, 1890. Dur- 
ing that year the debt on the church property was all paid. At the 
close of his term of service the High street parsonage was sold, and 
a new one has been erected east of the church. Another house 



440 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

that stood on the site of the new parsonage has been moved to the 
southeast part of the lot and rebuilt for the use of the church sexton. 
The Methodist Episcopal society now has a fine set of buildings, 
and is well equipped for good work. During his third year Mr. 
Babcock organized a distinct branch of the Methodist Episcopal 
church at Grange village, where a good Sunday-school has been 
gathered, and afternoon preaching is well sustained. The Rev. R. 
T. Wolcott, began his work in April, 1893, and entered the new 
parsonage in October. Under the care of Mr. Wolcott the church 
prospered. • The branch of the church at the Grange village erected, 
under the charge of Rev. R. T. Wolcott, a very neat chapel during 
the summer of 1895. 

At the annual conference of 1896, Mr. Wolcott was assigned to 
the Woodsville church, and Rev. R. C. Danforth located in Lan- 
caster. Mr. Danforth has started on what seems a promising pas- 
torate. 

THE FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY OF LANCASTER. 
By Rev. A. N. Somers, 

In Lancaster, as all over New England, Unitarianism grew up 
within the pale of the Orthodox Congregational church. In Lan- 
caster, as elsewhere, it first took form as a protest against Calvinism; 
and its advocates, in adopting biblical phraseology to express their 
Arminianism, came to accept the Arian interpretation of some fun- 
damental theological doctrines, which in time, led them into the 
" Trinitarian Controversy," which prepared the way for the forma- 
tion of the Unitarian church. 

The history of the old " First church " of Lancaster reveals the 
fact that Arminian views were held by a considerable number of its 
earliest communicants. It is certain that the first minister of the 
church, the Rev. Joseph Willard, shared with them in holding those 
views, though he never preached much upon theological topics and 
so avoided conflict with the Calvinistic members of his church. 

The creed of the church was not distinctly Trinitarian. The doc- 
trine was not named in it. Any Unitarian could conscientiously 
subscribe to it at that period in the development of Unitarian 
thought. The creed upon this question reads : 

"We believe in God the Father,^ — Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth, and 
his son Jesus Christ, as the sole Saviour of the world, and in the Holy Ghost as 
the comforter and sanctifier of the people and church of God." 

In spite of the vagueness of the creed and the silence of the min- 
ister upon the doctrines of Calvinism and Arminianism, there grew 
up withm the church two parties that in time were destined to di- 
vide it. The one was Orthodox, the other Liberal. 



THE CHURCHES. 44I 

The Rev. Mr. Willard resigned the pastorate of the church in 
1822, and was succeeded by the Rev. J. R. VVheelock. A majority 
of the church (the Liberals) refused to accept his services and sup- 
port him upon the discovery that he was extremely Calvinistic in his 
theology. That protest against his Calvinism led to his beino- dis- 
missed ; and the Rev. Joseph Willard was again settled ove" the 
cnurch until his death, which occurred in 1826 

From the death of " Parson" Willard, as he was lovingly called 
by all, down to the time when the Orthodox (Calvinistic Trinita- 
rian) portion of the "First Congregational Church " seceded in 
ian) "^^^""''^y of the congregation were Arminians (Unitar- 

During the pastorate of the Rev. Andrew Govan, who preached 
much upon theological questions from 1832 to 1835 the Liberal 
portion of the congregation came to openly avow their Unitarian 
doctrines The position taken by the Liberals of Lancaster was es- 
sentially that of Unitarians in other parts of New England— anti- 
Tnnitanan and anti-Calvinistic. The Rev. Mr. GovaS sought to 
remedy matters by inserting in the creed these words from Titus 
111:5: Not by works of righteousness which we have done but 
according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost." 

The Unitarians being the majority (and in fact the church was to 
all intents and purposes a Unitarian church), prevented the revision 
of the creed which, as adopted at the formation of the church, was 
neither Calvinistic nor Trinitarian. It had been framed for the ac- 
commodation of Arminian views, and now that those holding those 
views had come, by a natural process of theological growth" to be 
Unitarians they were not disposed to see the church handed over to 
Irinitarian Calvinism by any revision of its fundamental basis of 
organization. 

The Unitarians had been from the f^rst strong enough in numbers 
chnrrh "^"'' to control the preaching in the "Congregational 
church down to the spring of 1854. In 1836 the Orthodo.x mem- 
bers of the church, seeing themselves in a hopeless minority, seceded 

LancalrN "T"'"n '^' " ^''^^°^"" Congregational Church in 
Lancaster, N. H. By that move they left the Unitarians in the 
peaceable possession of the church property and records as" The Con- 
gregationa Church " of Lancaster. The Orthodox scolders recog- 
nized the church as a Unitarian church in a " statement of reasons 
hv n ' formation of the Orthodox Congregational church" prepared 
by Deacon Farrar in which he says : " Some in the church are assist- 
ing to raise a standard which we believed to be another gospel-" 
and systematic and persevering efforts to introduce into thS church 
a system of faith which rejects these doctrines (new creed of the 



442 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Orthodox church)"; and again "The church could not be extri- 
cated from such a state of things." 

During the next seven years there was very Httle activity dis- 
played on the part of either of the rival churches. In the early part 
of 1843, the Orthodox church called the Rev. David Perry, who set- 
tled as pastor over it. He was not disposed to let things rest as he 
found them, and set about to reunite the two Congregational 
churches. A meeting of the two churches was held on Nov. 20, 
1843, at which a plan of union was adopted, and ratified by both. 
A new creed was drawn up and subscribed to by all of the Con- 
gregational church (Unitarian), and by all but seven of the Or- 
thodox Congregational church. 

The Unitarians sacrificed the first creed in which the ground of 
contention — Trinitarianism and Unitarianism — was covered by 
vagueness, and the Orthodox threw to the winds their undisguised 
Trinitarian creed ; and the two united upon one that is avowedly 
"agnostic" on that point, as is seen in Article 3, of the new com- 
promise creed, which is still the creed of the Orthodox Congrega- 
tional church. It reads as follows : 

"We believe that in these Scriptures there is revealed a distinction in the God- 
head of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that this distinction, though incompre- 
hensible to us, is yet perfectly consistent with the Unity of the Divine Being." 

The reunited church continued its work until 1854. The Rev. Mr. 
Perry was dismissed Jan. 20, 1847, ^^id Rev. Stephen A. Barnard, 
who had been ordained as a Unitarian minister, was settled on May 
9, 1847, after having preached some two months on trial. Although 
once a Unitarian he had declared himself Orthodox in faith. His 
preaching was entirely satisfactory to the Unitarians, and while the 
church grew considerably under his ministrations, the new growth 
only tended to strengthen the Unitarian numbers and confirm their 
faith. The Unitarian portion of the congregation were entirely satis- 
fied with the Rev. Mr. Barnard and his ministry, and on account of 
an attempt to incorporate the society so as to better perform its 
obligations to him, and enable it to lawfully hold its property, the 
Orthodox portion of the congregation became alarmed lest the 
Unitarians might get legal hold and control of the church property, 
and accordingly they made a hasty move and organized "The Ortho- 
dox Congregational Church Society," and assumed the proprietor- 
ship of the church property, which that body still holds. The Rev. 
Stephen Barnard's pastorate closed May 29, 1853. During the 
next few months several distinguished Unitarian ministers, visiting 
in the mountains, occupied the pulpit of the church at the solicita- 
tion of the Unitarians. During the winter months following there 
were no regular services sustained ; and as the Orthodox society 



THE CHURCHES. 443 

showed no disposition to renew services the Unitarians secured the 
services of the Rev. George M. Rice to begin on Jan. i, 1854, and 
to continue for an indefinite length of time. 

After he had preached for six weeks the Orthodox portion of the 
church began to grow anxious over the probable results of so much 
Unitarian preaching, and a settled minister of that faith. They 
secured the services of the Rev. Isaac Weston of Maine, and on 
Feb. 12, announced that he would preach Feb. 19, from the pul- 
pit then occupied by Rev. G. M. Rice. When the day came the 
two ministers met at the pulpit with their respective followers in the 
pews anxiously awaiting the results of what proved to be the crisis 
in their conflicts over the use of the church property. Influences 
that had been antagonizing each other for more than half a century 
were pitted against each other for a final settlement. There was 
but one course open to the two ministers, which was to allow the 
Rev. Mr. Rice to preach at the morning service and the Rev. Mr. 
Weston in the afternoon. That was the plan agreed upon by the 
ministers. The Rev. G. M. Rice was the duly authorized minister 
of the church, as he had been legally called by the majority of its 
constituency. The minority of the church though acting as the 
legally incorporated society had served no notice on the Unitar- 
ian majority to vacate the pulpit for their use on that occasion. Be- 
ing in the lawful possession of the church as the majority of the 
members of the one church worshiping there under the same name 
— Orthodox Congregational church — Mr. Rice would have been un- 
true to the terms of his contract to preach for them an "indefinite 
length of time " had he relinquished the pulpit to another without 
the consent of his employers. The Rev. Mr. Weston was an old 
man, and possibly not fully aware of the true situation of the affairs 
confronting him on that Sunday morning. An undue amount of 
credit has been given him by his Orthodox friends for his display of 
" courtesy " toward Mr. Rice in yielding the pulpit over which he 
had no lawful claim though in the service of the legal owners of the 
building. The credit was equally due both ministers that they set- 
tled so difficult a question in a way that could reflect no disgrace 
upon the cause they were serving. 

The Unitarians, seeing that by shrewd practices and defiant 
methods they were liable to be crowded out of the church with no 
regard for their rights, now called a meeting of the " First Congre- 
gational Society of Lancaster," at the Coos Hotel, on Feb. 13, 1854. 
At that meeting a committee was appointed to confer with the 
Orthodox Congregational society, in regard to their rights in 
the meeting-house. At a subsequent meeting that committee re- 
ported that the Orthodox society " refused to hold any communi- 
cation on the subject of the meeting-house." 



444 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

At the meeting on Feb. 13, 1854, the society was duly reorgan- 
ized, and officers elected. It retained the old name of the First 
church, viz., "The First Congregational Society of Lancaster." 

To its constitution we find subscribed the following names: Wil- 
liam D. Spaulding, James W. Weeks, B. F. Whidden, John H. 
White, James B. Weeks, John W. Barney, John Lindsey, William 

A. White, C. B. Allen, E. C. Garland, J. W. Merriam, A. L. Robin- 
son, Edward Spaulding, Wm. Burns, R. Sawyer, James B. Spauld- 
ing, Charles D. Stebbins, James S. Brackett, Hiram A. Fletcher, 
Hosea Gray, Edward C. Spaulding, Nelson Kent, Edwin F. East- 
man, Benj. Hunking, S. F. Spaulding, J. H. Spaulding. 

The following names were added to the list within the next few 
years: William D. Weeks, John M. Whipple, E. L. Colby, Kimball 

B. Fletcher, Samuel S. Mudgett, Jared W. Williams, Jos. M. 
Thompson, Wm. H. Clark, S. J. Greene, Ira S. M. Gove, D. C. 
Pinkham, Frank Smith, Lafayette Moore, Ossian Ray, and A. T. 
Johnson. 

The first officers of the society were the following: Hon. John H. 
White, president; B. F. Whidden, secretary; James W. Weeks, 
Wm. Burns, and William D. Spaulding, executive committee; C. B. 
Allen, treasurer and collector. 

Having ascertained through the investigations of a committee 
consisting of B. F. Whidden and William Burns that their legal 
rights in the meeting-house were complicated, and could only be 
secured through disagreeable litigation, the First Congregational 
society began holding its services in the court-house on Feb. 26, 
1854, and continued to meet there until their present meeting- 
house was erected and dedicated, Oct. 24, 1856. 

On Feb. 20, 1854, the society was incorporated as "a body 
politic " according to the requirements of the laws of the state, 
notice of which was published for three succeeding weeks in the 
Cods County Z)e?noc7'at, beginning Feb. 22, 1854. 

As soon as the society was duly organized and holding regular 
services as a Unitarian society, steps were taken to form a church in 
connection with the parish society, and on the afternoon of Sunday, 
March 12, 1854, a church w^as organized by the adoption and 
acceptance of the following " Church Covenant," which is with but 
slight changes the form of covenant used by the Second church 
of Boston, Mass., under the distinguished Puritan ministers, John 
Cotton and John Wilson. 

Church Covenant. 

" We whose names are hereunder written, declare our faith in the One Living 
and True God ; in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he was sanctified of the Father, 
and sent into the world, that the world through Him might be saved ; and that 



THE CHURCHES. 445 

Gospel which was confirmed by the death and resurrection of its Author, and 
which is binding upon us as the rule of our faith and practice. 

" Being united into one congregation or church under the Lord Jesus Christ, 
we do hereby solemnly and religiously promise to walk in all our ways according 
to the rule of the Gospel, and in all sincere conformity to his holy ordinances, 
and in mutual love and respect to each other, so near as God shall give us grace." 

This covenant was accepted by the following persons on the date 
named, and from time to time by others until its roll of members 
included many of the best people in the town: George M. Rice, 
William A. White, Ellen C. White, WilHam D. Spaulding, Sarah A. 
Spaulding, James W. Weeks, M. Eliza Weeks, Persis F. Weeks, 
Nancy D. M. Sawyer, Ellen A. White, Susan D. F. Cargill, Eliza 
D. Whidden, Debby A. Kent, Harriet E. Stalbird. 

Some of these had left the Orthodox Congregational church on 
letters of dismissal in order to unite with the Unitarian church, 
while some who had formerly acted with the Unitarians joined the 
Orthodox church. 

At a public meeting of the parish Sept. 27, 1855, steps were 
taken to build a house of worship. James W. Weeks, Dr. John W. 
Barney, William D. Spaulding, and William A. White were 
appointed a committee to procure plans, and an estimate of costs, 
for a suitable building. Plans for the building now used by the 
society were drawn and presented to it by Mr. W. B. O. Peabody, 
an architect of Boston, Mass. The building was completed and 
ready for occupation within the year following, chiefly through the 
earnest efforts of the Rev. Mr. Rice and William D. Spaulding, 
chairman of the building committee. The little society found sym- 
pathetic friends among other Unitarian churches that knew them to 
be worthy and needy of assistance in getting established. Among 
its friends who helped it financially and otherwise were the Rev. 
Thomas Starr King, the famed pulpit orator of the Hollis Street 
church, Boston, Mass., Rev. A. P. Peabody of Portsmouth, N. H., 
who was then editor of the North American Review, Rev. Samuel 
Longfellow, brother of the poet H. W. Longfellow, and Rev. 
Charles T. Brooks of Newport, R. L 

The Rev. G. M. Rice was the first avowed Unitarian minister to 
preach as a settled minister in Lancaster. At the time became 
here he was of mature years, a man of marked ability, fearless, 
frank, and faithful in the discharge of his professional duties. He 
was thoroughly conscientious in all he said or did. In addition to 
the full discharge of his obligations to his church he made ex- 
tensive journeys to collect funds to build the meeting-house, pro- 
curing some seven or eight hundred dollars for that purpose out- 
side of Lancaster. 

By the time the church had become thoroughly organized and 



446 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

its house of worship completed, the minister gave much of his time 
and attention to the slavery question, which was then the most 
prominent political and moral question of the country. The Rev. 
G. M. Rice was a thorough-going abolitionist, as were nearly all 
Unitarian ministers of that time, and no doubt often discussed the 
slavery question in his sermons. 

On account of his abolitionist utterances, rather than his theologi- 
cal attitude, a considerable number of his congregation deserted 
him and went over to the other churches. 

His theology recognized all men, regardless of race, creed, or 
other accidents, as constituting a single brotherhood, and all men as 
truly the sons of God ; so he accepted it not only as a political, but 
religious, duty to proclaim against slavery as an abomination and 
crime. It cannot be learned that he was ever partisan in his advo- 
cacy of the anti-slavery doctrine, or that he labored for any political 
party. Had he been less conscientious than he was, he might have, 
through silence on a vexed question, held all his followers, and have 
drawn others to them. Some of the best friends of the new society 
were among the pro-slavery opponents of Mr. Rice, but they re- 
mained with the church because truly and intelligently Unitarians. 

The period in the history of the church covered by the Rev. Mr. 
Rice's ministry, 1854-185 7, was the most critical one through which 
it has passed ; and if the church had not had for its friends and sup- 
porters many of the most intelligent and influential families in the 
town it would have perished in its birth. The breaking of its alli- 
ance with the Orthodox church after more than half a century of 
cooperation severely handicapped it. Then came this anti-slavery 
agitation, in which the minister took what his congregation, very 
generally, thought a too active part. While there was much fault 
found with the preaching of the minister, his motives and charac- 
ter were never condemned. No clergyman ever left a church with 
a cleaner record than did he. His church thought politics and re- 
ligion should not be mixed ; but he thought that in a question that 
involved three millions of his fellow creatures, children of the living 
God, they should be mixed ; and with a conscience he mixed them. 
Those were trying times for a minister who felt that slavery was 
the greatest evil of our country, and the situation was doubly try- 
ing for Mr. Rice. He felt constrained to resign his charge and let 
the church he had helped to found, and which he loved, try its 
fortune with some other pastor. He accordingly handed in his res- 
ignation on the 27th of September, 1857. At a meeting of the 
society on the day following, it was voted not to accept his res- 
ignation. But as Mr. Rice demanded entire freedom of speech in 
the pulpit as the only condition of remaining longer, the society at 
a subsequent meeting reconsidered its action and accepted his res- 



THE CHURCHES. 447 

ignation, but not without expressing, by vote, their full confidence 
in his Christian character and ability. 

The next settled minister of the society was the Rev. George G. 
Channing, a brother of the distinguished William Ellery Channing, 
the foremost leader in the Unitarian movement in this country. The 
Rev. Mr. Channing was settled May 23, 1858, and remained until 
May 8, i860, leaving on account of serious illness. He was a faith- 
ful minister, of kindly and sympathetic disposition, and the society 
prospered during his ministry. He came at a time when they were 
burdened with debts ; but he had the satisfaction of seeing that bur- 
den removed, chiefly through the generosity of William D. Spauld- 
ing, who assumed all the society's debts, about $800, taking in 
consideration therefor some pews that remained unsold at the time. 
He left with the church a farewell letter that is full of the prophetic 
spirit. He is remembered with much love by many of the older 
members. 

For a number of years next following, the terms of ministerial ser- 
vice were short. A Rev. Mr. Edes preached about a year, and was 
succeeded by Rev. George Osgood, who remained a year. Then 
for several years the church was only open during the summer 
months, with Revs. Thomas Howard, W. W. Newell, and George L. 
Chaney as ministers. Rev. J. L. M. Babcock served the society as 
pastor for three years. 

At the annual meeting of the society on April i, 1862, its name was 
changed from " The First Congregational Society" to "The First 
Unitarian Society," as at present. This step was taken under the 
conviction that its distinctive theology and religious aims would be 
less liable to be misunderstood and misconstrued, as they were while 
trying to work in competition with the Orthodox church under 
the single name Congregational. Despite its change of name it 
is, and always has been, the only church in Lancaster strictly con- 
gregational in its government. Rev. Lyman Clark, a young man 
just graduated from the theological school at Meadville, Pa., was 
invited to supply the pulpit in the winter of 1870. After preaching 
several months and giving satisfaction, he was called as its minister; 
and on July 20, 1871, was duly installed the first minister ever 
so set over the church and parish. Under his ministry the society 
prospered, clearing itself of debt, and even contributing to v^arious 
charitable enterprises away from home. He reorganized the society 
April 4, 1 87 1, and increased its membership to about one hundred 
persons during the time he served it. He resigned July 5, 1874, 
and now resides at Andover, N. H. 

For nearly a year the church was either closed or hearing candi- 
dates for its pulpit. On May i, 1875, Rev. R. P. E. Thatcher began 
a year's engagement, during which time there was a loss in both 



448 HISTORY OF LAN'CASTER. 

numbers and finances from which all became so much discouraged 
that for four years there was no settled minister. There was preach- 
ing during the summer months by several ministers, who spent their 
vacations in the vicinit}* of Lancaster. Among them was Rev. \V. H. 
Fish of South Scituate. Mass. Through his efforts, aided by S. J. 
Beane, the New England missionar}' of the American Unitarian 
Association, the societ}- was induced to settle a minister again. In 
June. 1880, Rev. J. B. Morrison was settled as pastor. During his 
period of service the society prospered, regaining much, in numbers 
and financial abilit}-, that it had lost during the five preceding years. 
The meeting-house was twice extensively repaired during the nearly 
ten years he was the minister. He resigned in ^lay, 1 890, and was 
succeeded by Rev. C. A. Young, who was ordained and installed 
September 25, 1890. He remained until September, 1893. After 
that date the church heard several candidates, but closed during 
several months of the winter following. On April i, 1894, Rev. 
A. X. Somers preached, and was invited to supply the pulpit for a 
3'ear, at the end of which time he was invited to remain for another 
year. 

There have been connected with the society, from its earliest 
years to the present, various important auxiliaries and clubs. A 
"Ladies' Benevolent Societ}-" was organized ]\Iarch 8, 1854, which 
has continued actively engaged in works of charity, and in aiding 
the church financially, as well as in promoting the social interests 
ofthe church and communit}'. This society changed its name to that 
of "The Women's Alliance," Jan. i, 1895, that it might be one in 
name and method of work with the "National Alliance of Unitarian 
and other Liberal Christian Women." 

There has always been a Sunday-school in the society, and while 
it has never been large and has suffered many reverses, yet it has 
sowed the seeds of a rational, ethical, and inspiring spiritual life 
among the young people of the parish. 

Various literary clubs have existed at times as the needs of the 
people called for them. The society has exercised a wholesome 
influence upon social amusements in the communit}-. Instead of 
condemning them all, it has discriminated between the pure and the 
immoral, and sought to purify and make useful such as have an 
aesthetical and moral value to the young. 

At a meeting called for the purpose of organizing a young peo- 
ple's society, Jan. 19, 1896, over thirty united in an organization 
under the name of "The Lancaster Young People's Union." for 
their mutual improvement intellectually, morally, socially, and reli- 
giously. With this broad aim the societ\' has started out to dis- 
cover to the young people of the church and community' their place, 
their work, and their responsibilities in the life of their town and 



THE CHURCHES. 449 

nation. It is a branch of the National Unitarian Union of Young 
People's Societies. 

In all things this little church has been an influence for good in 
the communit)' that no words can measure. Intellectually, morally, 
socially, as well as religiously, it has led and never followed the 
mind and heart of the people. On all questions of reform, it 
has taken a rational and progressive stand. To-day it stands in 
the front rank of progressive thought and conduct. And though 
never large in numbers, with interrupted ser\-ices, and never a pros- 
elyting societ}', it has yet been an inspiring institution that has led 
to what is best in the true mission of a church — character-building. 
The intellectual, moral, social, and theological progress of the com- 
munity has always been toward, and never away from, the ideals it 
has steadily held before it as the guide to all that is best and highest 
in life, now and evermore. 

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

The Catholic faith gained acceptance with the St. Francis tribe of 
Indians, inhabiting this and still further Northern sections of the 
country, prior to the settlement of the first white inhabitants in 1764. 
As the Indians retired before the march of civilization represented 
by early white settlers of the town, the Catholic faith was soon with- 
out adherents. The great tide of Irish immigration that set in this 
direction about 1830, reached Lancaster in 1833. That year the 
Connary family settled in Lancaster, where ever since they have 
been prominent Catholics, and highly respected citizens. The first 
mass celebrated in Lancaster was at the dwelling-house of Patrick 
Connary, ^lay 4, 1850. He lived at that time in the house now 
occupied by Cyrus G. Burley. 

There were present at that service, Patrick Connan,' and wife. John 
Connary and wife, Thomas Connan," and wife, Patrick Clarey and wife, 
then all the Catholics in Lancaster, or near it. The second mass was 
celebrated at the house of Patrick Clarey. where ]\Iartin A. Mona- 
han now lives. The same parties were present that attended the 
first mass. At this service the sacrament of baptism was adminis- 
tered for the first time in Lancaster, and to the first Catholic child 
born in the town, Mary, daughter of Patrick Connar}*. The first 
public mass was celebrated in the old town hall in 1855. by the 
Rev. Fr. Daley. At that time the number of Catholics had increased 
considerably, and from that time forward Lancaster was a recog- 
nized mission in connection with Concord. John, Francis, and 
Daniel Kellum had settled here by that time. Ser\Mces were con- 
ducted occasional!}- by Revs. O'Reiley, Brady, and others. 

In 1S56, Bishop Bacon gave all the missions in the Connecticut 
-9 



45 O HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

river valley from Colebrook, north, to Ashuelot river, south, together 
with the White Mountain region, to Rev. Isadore H. Noisseaux as 
his mission field. He was a zealous and faithful priest going about 
among the scattered ones of his faith, ministering to them the con- 
solations and comforts of his church. Father Noisseaux at once 
organized a parish in Lancaster, and purchasing the old " Deacon 
Farrar " place where the church and parsonage now stand, fitted it 
up as his place of residence, and added a chapel to it in which ser- 
vices were held .until 1877. 

In 1869, Bishop Bacon, of Portland, Me., visited the parish for 
the first time and administered the sacrament of confirmation. Dur- 
ing that same }'ear Father Noisseaux purchased land on Spring 
street for a cemetery, and blessed it. Father Noisseaux remained 
with the parish that he had organized until 1876, when he was 
transferred to Brunswick, Me., and was succeeded in Lancaster by 
the Rev. M. P. Danner. During his second year in Lancaster Father 
Danner built the present church edifice. J. L Williams was the 
architect, _and S. B. Congdon the builder. The new building was 
blessed by Bishop Healey, who preached and administered the sac- 
rament of confirmation at the time of the dedication. Father Dan- 
ner was succeeded in 1880, by Rev. Fr. McKinnon, who, failing in 
health, was obliged to retire after one year of service in the parish. 
He died at Portland, Me., in 1881. He was succeeded by the Rev. 
Fr. H. Lessard, who remained four years. At the beginning of the 
year 1886, the parish, which had grown too large for the care of 
one minister, was divided. Whitefield, Percy, Jackson, and Con- 
way were takeii from it, and North Stratford added to it. 

The Rev. M. J. B. Creamer succeeded Father Lessard in 1885. 
He was transferred to Manchester in the winter of 1898. In 1887 he 
built a church at North Stratford, and relinquished that mission which 
had then become a separate parish. In 1889 he built a church at 
Twin Mountain, and in 1890 he renovated the church and house at 
Lancaster, and placed a bell in the tower. In 1891 he purchased a 
church property in Groveton, N. H., where is still a mission. He 
has done much during the last two years in decorating the church 
in Lancaster. He is a hard worker, and it his privilege to min- 
ister to the largest congregation of worshipers in the town of Lan- 
caster. In 1895 he purchased lands on North Main street, and laid 
out a new cemetery for his church. Rev. Fr. D. Alex. Sullivan 
succeeded Father Creamer in 1898. 

THE BAPTLST CHURCH. 

There was once a small society of Baptists in Lancaster, and 
although they have ceased to exist, a brief notice seems proper 
in the history of the town. 



THE CHURCHES. 45 I 

The first preacher of this denomination was the Rev. Henry I. 
Campbell, who came here during the winter of i859-'6o. He 
divided his ministrations between Lancaster and West Milan for 
several months, and then removed to Jefferson. While a resident of 
that place he still retained his connection with the society here until 
1 86 1, when a church organization was effected, and he became its 
first settled pastor. 

The old academy building (now the public library building) was 
purchased by the society July 6, i860, and removed to its present 
location and repaired for their use. Prior to the occupancy of this 
church building the societ}^ held its services in the court-house. 

In 1862 an ecclesiastical society was formed under the name of 
the "First Baptist Society of Lancaster." The Rev. Mr. Campbell 
remained its pastor until about 1863, when he was succeeded by 
the Rev. George A. Glines, a licensed preacher. Mr. Glines was 
shortly after his location in Lancaster regularly ordained, and re- 
mained pastor for nearly four }'ears. For a year following the de- 
parture of Mr. Glines, the societ}- had no regular preacher. During 
this time the Rev. David Gage of Manchester, N. H., the agent of 
the New Hampshire State Convention, occasionally occupied the 
pulpit with great acceptance. In December, 1867, the society 
again settled a minister, the Rev. Andrew W. Ashley. He re- 
mained only a few months. It was not until the spring of 1871 
tliat they again had a settled pastor, when the Rev. Kilburn Holt 
began his ministry over the society. He remained until 1875, when 
he resigned and left Lancaster. Since that time the society has had 
no preaching, and has passed out of existence. Its members have 
mosth' found their place in the other churches. 

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Protestant Episcopal denomination began holding occasional 
services in Lancaster about forty years ago. The first service held, 
of which we have any certain knowledge, was on the evening of 
Aug. 6, 1856, by Bishop Chase. At that time the wife of the late 
William Heywood was confirmed. In 1863, Bishop Chase returned 
and held services again, at which time he confirmed seven persons. 
From the first service alluded to, up to 1875, services were con- 
ducted by ministers visiting here during the sunmier season and at 
the mountain resorts near by. 

During the year 1S75 the Rev. James B. Goodrich divided his 
time between Littleton and Lancaster, serving the two missions. The 
present church building was erected during that, and the succeeding 
}^ear, at a cost of $9,000, including the lot. Through all his life, as 
through the first years of its existence, the Hon. W^illiam Heywood 
was very much devoted to the church, and was of great service to 



452 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

it in many ways. He served as warden from its organization to the 
time of his death. 

Its regular ministers have been : Rev. James B. Goodrich, from 
1875 to 1884; Rev. E. P. Little, from 1884 to 1886; Rev. C. J. 
Hendley, from 1887 to 1889; Rev. William Lloyd Himes, state 
missionary, from 1889 to 1892; Rev. Joseph Eames,'from 1892 to 
the present time. The title of the church is "St. Paul's Episcopal 
church." 

In addition to its church building the society owns a good rec- 
tory, on the rear of the large lot upon which the church stands. 
Its present organization is, — Wardens, Henry O. Kent, Ezra Mitch- 
ell ; secretary, Irving W. Drew; treasurer, Frank D. Hutchins. 

OTHER SECTS THAT HAVE, AT TIMES, PREACHED IN LANCASTER. 

The mild and gentle Quakers have held services in some portions 
of the town, but never to develop an organization. The Free Bap- 
tists for a while held meetings in the schoolhouse of district No. 8, 
but never gained enough adherents to form a church society. The 
Christians have been heard on various occasions, but they, too, failed 
to develop any organization. Restorationist doctrines were once 
preached by certain Universalist ministers, but without finding much 
acceptance, if indeed they made any converts, to their faith. The 
Millerites or Second Adventists created quite a sensation here when 
that system was holding the attention of many throughout New 
England. They held meetings that were largely attended, but as 
their prophesies were not fulfilled the few converts they made fell 
into apostasy very soon after their conversion. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE NEWSPAPERS OF LANCASTER. 

The White Mountain ^gis — The Coos County Democrat — The Coos 
Republican — The Independent Gazette — The Coos Herald — North- 
ern News — Journal of Familiar Science. 

THE NEWSPAPER PRESS OF LANCASTER. 

The first printing establishment in this section of the state was at 
Lancaster in 1838. An association consisting of Richard P. Kent, 
Gen. John Wilson, Royal Joyslin, and Apollos Perkins, was formed 
to publish a newspaper, and run a job-printing office. This asso- 
ciation purchased the press and material, being indemnified, as they 
supposed, by a sub-subscription. A newspaper, a copy of the first 



THE NEWSPAPERS OF LANCASTER. 453 

issue of which is before me as I write, was started with Apollos 
Perkins as editor, and J. F. C. Hayes, foreman. This paper was 
called The White Mountain ^gis. It was only published in 
Lancaster one year when it was removed to Haverhill, Grafton 
county, under the control of Mr. Hayes, and named the Whig and 
y^gis. The paper while published in Lancaster was Whig in poli- 
tics, and was ably edited. It devoted much space to agriculture, as 
also to literary matters. Upon the whole, it was a better edited 
paper than any of the country newspapers of to-day. It abounded 
with poetry, mostly selected from the great poets of all periods, and 
with interesting stories. Numerous woodcuts, displaying the varied 
wares of the merchants of the village, adorned its pages. There 
one sees cuts of Isaac B. Gorham's hats, Kent & Porter's cook- 
ing stoves, Chadbourne's plows, stage coaches, and Edmund C. 
Wilder's array of furniture. 

Within less than a year after the paper was started it had a rival 
in the Cods County Democrat. The editor of the latter paper 
said sharp things against the yEgis. Among the defects he held 
up to public gaze was the fact that it was printed on a second- 
hand press, and from old type. To this the editor of the y^gfs 
made reply, to the effect that his press was indeed a second-hand 
one, it having been used to print a religious paper on, and later for 
printing Biblesi But its sacred associations did not save it from a 
loss of patronage in a community much stronger Democratic than 
Whig in politics. Mr. Perkins for a long time after leaving Lancas- 
ter resided at Lowell, Mass. Mr. Hayes was many years in the 
West, connected with newspaper work, and for some time a land 
broker at Des Moines, Iowa. He recently removed from Cleveland, 
O., to Groveton, N. H., where in the evening of life (1897) he rests 
from the cares and anxieties of business. Nat. Hibbard was a printer 
on the yEgis, and George Wilson and William George were ap- 
prentices while the paper was published in Lancaster. The office 
of the paper was in the second story of what was once the Masonic 
hall on Main street, but now a part of Syndicate block, owned by 
Drew, Jordan and King, and occupied by I. W. Quimby and others 
as stores and offices. 

The paper was not a success. Four years after it was launched 
forth as an exponent of Whig politics it failed, and the effects of the 
office were sold by the original owners. The press was bought by 
Lyman J. Mclndoe, then running a job office at Newbury, Vt., sub- 
sequently merged into the Aurora of the Valley establishment. 
The type went mostly to G. S. Towle, then editing a paper at Haver- 
hill, The True Democrat and Granite Whig, afterward moved to 
Lebanon, N. H., where it was known as The Granite State Whig, 
and the predecessor of the Granite State Free Press of that place. 



454 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

THE COOS COUNTY DEMOCRAT. 

In 1.838, shortly after the White Mountain yEgis started as the 
organ of the Whig party, an association of prominent business men, 
leading Democrats started the Cods County Detnocr at as the organ of 
their party. That association was composed of Hon. John W. Weeks, 
M. C. ; Hon. Jared W. Williams, later governor and United States 
senator ; Hon. John S. Wells, later United States senator ; and 
Hon. John H. White, sheriff of the county, and others of considera- 
ble note. The paper was edited by Hon. James M. Rix, with James 
R. Whittemore as publisher. During the first year Mr. Rix per- 
formed the editorial duties and worked at the case ; but the next 
year he gave up " the stick " and devoted his whole time to the 
editorial work of the paper, and retained that relation to the paper 
until the time of his death in 1856. Mr. Amos F. Abbott was fore- 
man in the office. 

The paper was first issued from the second story of the build- 
ing owned by John S. Wells, now the L of the Kent Building, 
on Main street. In 185 i it was removed to the store building of 
the late J. A. Smith on Main street. After the death of Mr. Rix, 
March 25, 1856, the ofifice was removed to the post-office building 
on the south side of the river. Jared I. Williams was then its edi- 
tor for some years, with Joseph W. Merriam of Stratford, later an 
editor of the Patriot, and afterward an attorney in Chicago, 111., as 
assistant editor. 

In 1859 the Donoo-at was moved to North Stratford, under the 
editorial control of Charles D. Johnson, then recently admitted to 
the bar of Coos county. Mr. Johnson died the following year, and 
after his death the paper ceased to represent its party as the party 
organ. The material of the plant was purchased by various persons, 
members of the opposing organization, and the Democrat was a 
nondescript. The internal dissension among its owners was dis- 
played by the placing of a cut of a bull, bottom side up, under the 
title of "A Man Overboard." This, by its nominal editor one week, 
followed in the next issue by a denunciation of the manager by the 
owners. After nearly a year of this sort of " management," the 
material was again sold. It was bought by A. J. Walker of Lunen- 
burg, Vt., who undertook to run a job office on "Baptist Hill," in 
that town. Mr. Walker failed in his enterprise and sold the estab- 
lishment Oct. 6, 1866, to Col. Henry O. Kent, who removed it to 
Lancaster, and set it up in the same room where it had been used 
nearly thirty years before to print the Democrat on. Only a por- 
tion of the material being of service in his office for the publication 
of the Coos Republican, Mr. Kent sold the press to C. O. Barney 
of Canaan, N. H., for the establishment of the Canaan Reporter. 



THE NEWSPAPERS OF LANCASTER. 455 

For a period of twenty years the Democrat slumbered like Rip 
Van Winkle, while some of the most remarkable events in the 
nation's history were taking place. A veritable new world had come 
to be during those twenty years. Lancaster had caught the spirit of 
many new enterprises, and was pushing forward along new lines of 
business, intellectual, and social life, when one October day in 1884, 
one F. A. Kehew launched a new edition of the old Cods Democrat 
upon the world. He appropriated the title and serial number of the 
paper as last published. He ran it until 1887, when he sold it to 
W. C. Colby, who conducted it until 1890, when he sold out to 
John D. Bridge of Littleton, N. H., who still owns it. Mr. Bridge 
has run the paper as a straight Democratic paper with good suc- 
cess. 

We cannpt pass the long and honorable list of employes of the 
old Democrat office while it was published in Lancaster without 
saying something of them. They are of deserving mention in any 
permanent record of the town and its enterprises. I borrow from the 
address of Col. H. O. Kent before the New Hampshire Printers' and 
Publishers' Association at Concord, N. H., Jan. 17, 1872. He says 
of them : 

" Hon. James M. Rix, subsequently president of the state senate, was a ner- 
vous, vigorous writer, and acute politician well known to the public of the state. 
His death occurred in March, 1856, from consumption, aggravated beyond doubt 
by the cares of editorial and political life. 

"James R. Whittemore, his original associate in the publication of the Detno- 
crat, became later a Thompsonian physician in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

" Edward E. Cross of Lancaster served his time in the Democrat office as an 
apprentice, and then assumed management of the office as foreman. From Lan- 
caster he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and entered the' Dollar Weekly Times office. 
He soon became a traveling correspondent for that paper, and for several years 
his letters written from all parts of the land, over the 7iom de plume of 'Edward 
Everett," were among the most agreeable matter in its columns. Of an adven- 
turous spirit. Cross readily entered into a plan for establishing mining operations 
in Arizona, and with a company started, by way of th^ Texas route, for the El 
Dorado. With their outfit he took a printing press and material and on their 
arrival at Tubac commenced the publication of the Arizonian, the first newspaper 
published in the territory. While in Arizona, Cross had a difficulty with Sylves- 
ter Mowry, Lt. U. S. A., since a delegate in congress, now dead, and a duel 
fought with Burnside rifles, which encounter at that time attracted general atten- 
tion, was the result. Mining operations being suspended by Indian depredations. 
Cross went over into Mexico to enter the military service of the Mexican Liberals, 
but learning of the rebellion at home, hastened north. In the summer of 1861, 
he was commissioned by Governor Berry colonel of the Fifth New Hampshire 
Infantry, which regiment bore the well-earned sobriquet of the ' Fighting Fifth.'' 
The military record of the Fifth and its commander is a part of the history of 
the state. Decimated by battle the regiment was always recruited rapidly; fore- 
most in desperate work its losses were fearful. Colonel Cross asserted on a pub- 
lic occasion in Concord, in January, 1863, that at Fredericksburg his dead lay 
nearer the rebel rifle-pits than those of any other regiment of the Army of the 
Potomac. Cross was shot through the thigh at Fair Oaks, shot again and again 



456 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

at Fredericksburg, and while leading the First Division of the Second Army 
Corps at Gettysburg was fatally shot through the abdomen. His remains were 
interred at Lancaster, amid a great concourse of people, by the Masonic fraternity, 
of which he was a member."* 

"Charles Francis Brown, better known as ' Artemas Ward,' entered the Demo- 
crat office from Norway, Me., as an apprentice, and served his time until the 
incident occurred resulting in his exchange to a wider sphere, and to that career 
whicii is now known on both hemispheres. Brown was a 'wayward brother' in 
the minor duties, a pronounced lover of the good things of this life, attainable to 
an apprentice in a country printing office, and the constant author of scrapes 
and practical jokes. The old red sign-post of the 'Temperance House' (kept by 
George Howe, a simple-minded old man), striped with chalk in ludicrous imita- 
tion of a barber's pole, the disconsolate cow of his employer, Mr. Rix, who for 
lack of intuitive perception to comprehend her amateur ' milk-maid,' and conse- 
quent failure to ' give down,' had her hip broken by a blow from the milking 
stool, and finally the pied cases in the office, the result of a squabble during 
office hours with a chance caller, are flowers culled from the chaplet of Artemas's 
embryo greatness. He was ' the plague of his life ' to Rix ; the malady culminat- 
ing in a grand tableau in the old ofiice, a stand overturned, the contents of its 
cases pied upon the floor, Artemas in deadly grapple with his opponent, writhing 
and reeling among the debris, and the nervous editor bounding in at the door to 
vent his anger and discharge the future humorist. It was at the Democrat office 
that Brown began his career of letters. From there he entered the office of the 
Cleveland Plaindealer, and that career, now so well known, closed with his 
lamented death at Southampton, England, March 7, 1867. 

"Charles W. Smith entered the Democrat office in 1846, and served his 
apprenticeship, becoming foreman of the office. He was absent a year, 
being engaged upon the Dover Gazette, managed at that time by Major Gibbs. 
Returning to Lancaster, he again became foreman, under diff"erent managemenis. 
until the paper left Lancaster for North Stratford. In 1857 he was foreman of 
the Tunes at McGregor, Iowa. He subsequently entered the office of the Coos 
Republican, \vh\c\\ \iO?,\t\or\ he held until 1870, when he was elected register of 
deeds for Coos county. 

" Richard E. Cross, a brother of Col. E. E. Cross, was another apprentice in 
the Democrat office. After serving his time he left Lancaster and entered the 
regular army. He was a private in the engineer battalion, which formed an 
important part of the small force displayed at Washington to the first inaugura- 
tion of President Lincoln in 1861. This duty performed, the command was sent 
to Fort Pickens. In the summer of the same year Cross came north and was 
commissioned lieutenant in his brother's (Col. E. E. Cross) regiment. He rose 
through several grades to that of colonel, his muster under the latter grade 
being prevented only by the inadequate number of enlisted men. Colonel Cross, 
several years later, removed to Glencoe, Canada, where he married a daughter of 
the Hon. A. P. McDonald, a member of the provincial parliament, a gentleman 
heavily engaged in the construction of railways. Colonel Cross was, for a time, 
in business in that line with him, being engaged upon the Intercolonial Railway 
line below Quebec." f 

* A monument was later erected to his memory by his fellow townsmen and citizens of 
the state. — Ed. 

t He later became a so-called "magnetic healer," and practised that supposed art for 
a time. He also made and sold medicines, and engaged in a variety of pursuits. He 
was United States guard of the treasury at Washington, U. C, where he died in the line 
of duty in September, 1894. He was interred in the old cemetery at Lancaster beside 
his brother with Masonic and Grand Army honors. — Ed. 



THE NEWSPAPERS OF LANCASTER. 457 

"Dexter Chase, who afterward married a sister of the Cross brothers, was 
also, at one time, an apprentice in the Democrat office in the days of Rix, and 
later was employed by Rix in his book-store. Mr. Chase was for a time employed 
as collector for the /juiepefident Democrat . (He later entered into other business, 
the manufacture of the first spring beds in this country, in Boston, Mass. At a 
still later date he returned to Lancaster and engaged in the insurance business, 
being advanced by the companies for which he labored to the position of inspector 
in New Hampshire, in which occupation he continued until his death early in 1896. 
He, too, was mterred in the old cemetery at Lancaster beside Edward E. and 
Richard E. Cross.) 

" Albert Bradley Davis, a native of Lancaster, and afterward an actor of con- 
siderable ability and reputation, for a long time manager of McVicker's theatre in 
Chicago, 111., served his time as an apprentice in the Democrat office. 

"Captain John G. Derby of Lancaster, still a resident here, and connected 
with several business enterprises, and especially noted for his long service in the 
fire department, was an apprentice in the Democrat office when C. F. Brown was 
there. 

" Lyman Stillings of Jefferson was also an apprentice in the office at one time. 
He later went West and died there. 

" S. J. Green of Shelburne. who, after leaving the office, was up to the time of 
his death in 1869, a clerk in the different stores in Lancaster; Edmund M. 
Waters of Stratford, now deceased, selected as a clerk and protege by Mr. Rix; 
Leland H. Plaisted, afterward foreman in Nicholson & Sibley's job office at Paw- 
tucket, R. L ; Albro Bean, at one time foreman in the office of the rermotit 
Patriot, at Montpelier, Vt. ; and Frank Goss, who went West, were among the 
other employes of the office, whom memory recalls."'' 

The Cods .Republican. — This paper, next in date of issue, was 
estabHshed at Lancaster in December, 1854. It was first pubhshed 
in the town hall building, by Daniel A. Bowe, of Middlebury, Vt., 
for several years preceptor of Lancaster academy. David B. Alli- 
son, an old Concord printer, was manager, the two uniting as the 
firm of Bowe & Allison. The Republican was started as the organ 
of the party of that name but just organized. The health of Mr. 
Bowe was poor, and he was forced in the autumn of 1857 to give 
up business. He died of consumption the April following. Col- 
onel Allison continued the publication of the Republican until 
December, 1858, when the establishment was purchased by Henry 
O. Kent, and removed to Kent's building, Main street (a part of 
the time occupying rooms formerly used by the Coos County Dem- 
ocrat), where it remained until sold by Kent in October, 1870. 
After disposing of the paper Colonel Allison worked at type-set- 
ting, both at Concord, and at several ofifices in Maine, in which state 
he died some j^ears later. 

"Among the employes of the Republicati, under its original management, were 
John L. Parker, later of Woburn, Mass., Budget Lane of Laconia, N. H., 
Richard O. Young, who died of disease while serving in the United States Army, 
and the three apprentices, Rowell, Smith, and Berry, who remained with the 
office after its transfer to me. For twelve years, from December, 1858, to Octo- 
ber, 1870, the paper was owned by me, and was under my direct control, save 



458 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

during the period of my absence with my regiment, when it was leased to Daniel 
C. Pinkham, Esq., the clerk of the courts for the county. . . . 

" Levi W. Rowell, the senior apprentice, at the time of my purchase, was fore- 
man until May, 1859. Mr. Rowell was afterwards connected with the Caddie at 
Littleton. N. H., and the Ti?nes at St. Johnsbury, Vt. 

"Charles W. Smith, to whom allusion has been made in the sketch of the 
Democrat, commenced with me as foreman in May, 1859, '^"^ continued in that 
position until April, 1870. Mr. Smith was a first-class printer, and in the man- 
agement of the office and business details he proved, during twelve consecutive 
years, an invaluable foreman. 

"William H. Berry of Winthrop, Maine, had charge of the office, as foreman, 
for a short time after Mr. Smith left it. 

" Richard H. C. Valentine, a Louisianian born, but at the time hailing from 
New York city, became foreman in July, 1870, and held that place while the 
paper was in my hands. He remained with the new management but a brief 
time, when he returned to New York. He was later in charge of the printers' 
warehouse, a branch of the business of George P. Rowell & Co., advertising 
agents of that city. Mr. Valentine was an accomplished printer. 

"The different apprentices who served in the Republican office, during my 
ownership, were : 

" Henry B. Berry, afterward in the army, and later a printer in Boston, Mass., 
George P. Smith of Gorham, N. H., Thomas Blake of Stratford, N. H., George 
H. Emerson of Lancaster, later senior member of the newspaper and job printing 
firm of Emerson, Hartshorn & Co. of Lancaster. Mr. Emerson had been for 
several years in the treasury department at Washington, but voluntarily retired to 
enter active business. He entered mercantile pursuits, but finally engaged in the 
printing and publishing business." 

" Henry W. Denison of Lancaster, afterward for several years a clerk in the 
customs department at Washington, and subsequently connected with the consu- 
lar service in Japan, where he now is; Richard H. Emerson of Lancaster; John 

A. Smith of Lancaster, now resident of Akron, Iowa; Frank Foster Thomas of 
Lancaster, afterward journeyman at Portsmouth, N. H. ; George H. Colby of 
Lancaster, afterward in the newspaper business, conducting a paper at Hono- 
lulu, Sandwich Islands, and again at Waterville, Me., and now engaged in the 
book trade at Lancaster; Harry C. Hartshorn of Lunenburg, Vt., who was later 
the partner of George H. Emerson, his brother-in-law, in the firm of Emerson, 
Hartshorn & Co. above referred to; Charles H. Rowell of Hunt's Hollow, Liv- 
ingston Co., N. Y.. supposed to have been killed by the explosion of the mine, in 
the siege of Petersburg, Va. ; Charles E. Rowell of Littleton, N. H., now a 
physician at Stamford, Conn. ; Edward Hoogs of Boston, Mass. ; Robinson Y. 
Russell, later of the Lynn Transcript; William Oliver Burbeck of Haverhill, 
N. H. ; Nellie Rowell and Nellie Eastman, both of Lancaster, were frequently 
engaged upon the paper. 

" The Republican was purchased of me by Chester B. Jordan, October, 1870, 
and removed to rooms over the post-office on Main street." 

The Cods Re-ptiblican Association was subsequently formed, and 
bought the paper of Chester B. Jordan. In August, 1870, the asso- 
ciation sold the paper to F. E. Shaw, who soon resold it to the 
association. When Mr. Jordan relinquished the editorial charge of 
the paper, Wesley W. Pasko of New York, a writer for the Press 
of that city, became editor. After him came Josiah H. Benton, Jr., 

B. F. Whidden, Jonathan Smith, F. W. Williams, W. C. Mahurin, 



THE NEWSPAPERS OF LANCASTER. 459 

F. E. Shaw. From July, 1877, when Mr. Mahurin, for a second 
time, gave up editorial charge of the paper, a Mr. E. W. Kingsley 
was editor for the association until April, 1878, when the office was 
destroyed by fire. 

In May, following the fire which destroyed the plant, James S. 
Peavey removed his printing office from Littleton, N. H., to Lancas- 
ter, and began the publication of the Republican, in a store building 
opposite the old American House on Elm street, until the following 
October, when he moved the office into the newly-finished Eagle 
block, where he continued the publication of the paper until the 
succeeding December, when he sold it to A. F. Rowell and C. D. 
Batchelder, who took C. L. Griffing into partnership with them, 
which partnership continued until June, 1882, when Rowell and 
Batchelder retired from it, leaving Griffing the publisher of the 
paper until September, 1883, when C. D. Phelps and J. H. Baird 
bought it. Mr. Baird soon bought out his partner, and conducted 
the business alone until 1884, when the publication ceased. Rowell, 
Batchelder & Griffing in 1881 changed the name of the paper from 
The Cods JRepiihlican to The Lancaster Republican. 

In 1884, when the publication of The Taucaster Republican 
ceased, the press, type, and other material were sold at auction, and 
were bought by F. A. Kahew of Littleton, N. H., who began the 
re-publication of the Cods County Democrat, which latter paper 
now occupies an office in the new Odd Fellows' block on Main street. 

The next publication in order in Lancaster was The Prohibition 
Herald. Its editors were the Rev. L. D. Barrows and Dr. John 
Blackmer. It was the state organ of the temperance party, and was 
published at the job printing office of Emerson, Hartshorn & Co., for 
one year from January, 1871 . It was then moved to Concord, N. H. 

The Independent Gazette. — This paper was started as an inde- 
pendent newspaper in January, 1872, by George H. Emerson and 
Harry C. Hartshorn as publishers. The editor was James S. Brackett 
for a tim.e, after which Mr. Emerson became the editor, and contin- 
ued in that relation to the paper until August, 1877, when the paper 
was sold to I. VV. Quimby and W. F. Burns. Mr. Burns soon sold his 
interest to Joseph Roby, Jr., who, after only a few months, sold out 
to Mr. Quimby, who continued the publication of .it until Novem- 
ber 10, 1883, at which time he sold out to the Lancaster Printing 
Company, which was the name under which George P. Rowell, the 
well-known newspaper advertising agent of New York city, con- 
ducted the business in the publication of the Lancaster Gazette, to 
which name Mr. Quimby had changed the paper in 1879. Mr. 
Rowell conducted the paper successfully, until for some reason he 
saw fit to abolish it entirely in 1885. He sold the material out in 
job lots, here and there, hoping it was so effectually scattered as to 



460 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

terminate its use together again ; but, Phcenix-like, it arose by its 
scattered parts coming together at the behest of Mr. Ouimby, its 
former owner, reappearing with the same headhnes, form, and in 
every way the same Lancaster Gazette it had before been. This 
reappearance was on September 25, 1885. Mr. Ouimby sold out 
the plant to James S. Peavey in 1887. Mr. Peavey conducted it 
only two years, when he, in turn, sold out to A. F. Rowell and 
Charles R. Bailey, who have made the paper a first-class local news- 
paper. In politics it has been Republican. On the ist of July, 
1896, Mr. Bailey sold his interest to his partner, leaving A. F. 
Rowell sole proprietor and publisher. 

Several other publications of minor importance call for passing 
notice : 

The Cods Herald. — In the winter of 1856 Charles N. Kent, then 
only thirteen years old, printed and published a little paper under 
the above title. It was a creditable enterprise for one so young. 
Mr. Kent was for many years connected with the firm of George P. 
Rowell & Co., New York. 

The A^orthern JVews. — This little sheet, 8x12, edited and pub- 
lished by Fletcher Ladd and Edward Ray, at the age of eight years, 
was another juvenile enterprise in the printer's art that is remem- 
bered with pleasure by their friends. Mr. Ladd is now an attorney, 
practising in Lancaster, and Mr. Ray resides in Whitefield. 

The Journal of Familiar Science. — During the year 1870 the 
firm of S. Randall & Co., druggists, published a quarterly under this 
name. It was another of the short-lived ventures, promising well, 
but failing to find support. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 

The Lawyers — The Physicians— The Dentists — The Druggists. 

THE BENCH AND BAR. 

From the settlement of New Hampshire, or rather the erection of 
its territory into a royal province by King Charles II, in 1679, until 
1770, all New Hampshire, for judicial and financial purposes, com- 
prised a single court, the supreme judicial court, sitting at Ports- 
mouth, Dover, and Exeter. In 1 771 the province was divided into 
five counties, and three courts of justice were established, — the 
superior court of judicature, the inferior court of common pleas, 
and the court of general sessions. 

In 1855 the superior court of judicature was abolished, and the 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 46 1 

supreme judicial court reestablished, and continued in operation 
until 1874, when it was superseded by the superior court of judi- 
cature and the circuit court, the first being the law court and the 
latter the trial court, which continued to 1876, when they were 
abolished, and the present supreme court established in their stead. 

The inferior court of common pleas continued from 1771 until 
1820, when it was abolished for five years. From 1825 to 1859, 
it was again in force and operation. In 1859 it was abolished, and 
its business transferred to the supreme judicial court. In 1874 this 
court was revived, but only lasted two years, when its business 
passed to the supreme court. 

The court of general sessions of the peace had for its judges all 
of the commissioned justices of the peace in the county, and was 
accompanied by grand and petit juries. This court had entire con- 
trol of the financial affairs of the county. 

In 1794 the functions of this court were transferred to the court 
of common pleas. The side judges of this court attended to the 
financial affairs of the county. In 1855 a board of county commis- 
sioners was created, which did away with the side judges, as the 
financial affairs of the county passed under the jurisdiction of the 
county commissioners. All that remains of the court of general ses- 
sions to-day is the sessions docket, as a branch of the business of 
the supreme court, and relates only to entries for laying out high- 
ways. 

Beside these courts there is the probate court, which has jurisdic- 
tion in the probate of wills, granting administration, and determining 
matters relating to the sale, settlement, and final disposition of estates 
of deceased persons. It also has original jurisdiction in relation to 
the adoption of children, assignment of dower and homestead in the 
estates of deceased persons ; and in the appointment and removal of 
guardians of minors, insane persons, and spendthrifts. It is also a 
court of insolvency, and has jurisdiction over petitions for partition 
of real estate when title is not in controversy, and grants changes in 
names of persons. 

The law profession has always held a prominent place in Lan- 
caster because it was and is the shire town of the Upper Coos 
country, where the first court was held and where the first lawyers of 
the county resided. There have always been able men in the profes- 
sion, either residing or practising here. In the first years after the 
establishing of the county some of the local lawyers did but little 
before the law court. They prepared their cases and had them 
presented before the court by abler men, who made a practice of 
traveling from one court to another throughout the state. Among 
them were such lawyers as Bartlett, Bell, Cushman, Wilson, Daniel 
Webster, Jeremiah Smith, and Jeremiah Mason. 



462 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Richard Clai?- Everett was the first lawyer to reside in Lancaster. 
He was born in Attleboro, Mass., March 28, 1764, the year the first 
settlement of this town was made. At the age of fifteen Mr. Ever- 
ett entered the Revolutionary army from Westminster, Mass., and 
was retained by Gen. George Washington as a body servant for two 
years, at the end of which time he was discharged from service, and 
came to Lancaster as a pioneer. He was a young man of high 
aspirations, particularly in the direction of education. He had a 
strong desire to procure a good education, but as an orphan boy he 
found it difificult to accomplish much in that direction. He re- 
mained in Lancaster, working as a hired man until 1784. For- 
tunately, while struggling for an education, he came into posses- 
sion of some property through the death of a relative in Rhode 
Island, and at once set about to accomplish the plans he had laid to 
graduate from college. He at once entered with renewed courage 
into his plans. He accordingly fitted for college at Hanover, 
entered in 1786, and graduated from Dartmouth in 1790; and 
immediately began the study of law at Albany, N. Y. Having 
completed his professional studies he settled in Lancaster in 1793, 
for the practice of his profession, and there married Persis, daughter 
of Major Jonas Wilder, December 17, of the same year. During 
the following year he built the old house on the corner of Main and 
High streets, known now as the " Cross House," and lived there until 
his death in 1 8 1 5 . 

As a lawyer Mr. Everett was successful, displaying tact and prac- 
tical judgment. In 1805 he became judge of the court of common 
pleas, which offtce he held until the time of his death. He also 
represented the town in the state legislature several terms with much 
ability. He also held the military commission of colonel. He was 
a tall man of commanding presence, and strict military bearing. He 
was of pleasant address, and an able speaker before the court or the 
public. 

Mr. Everett was also quite e.xtensively engaged in milling and 
cloth dressing. He built a large two-story mill on the site of the 
present grist-mill, in which were also carried on wool carding and 
cloth dressing. Being a public-spirited man he took an interest in 
many things outside of his professional business. He did much to 
start the educational, religious, and social interests of the town in the 
right direction. 

Abram Hinds. — But little can be learned of Mr. Hinds as a law- 
yer beyond the fact that he practised here in the court of common 
pleas, and the superior court for some years. He was register of 
deeds soon after the organization of the county, but on account of 
the loss of the county records it is not certain whether he was the 
first register of deeds or not, but it seems from tradition that he was. 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 463 

As early as 1807 he was appointed postmaster, which office he held 
four years. 

Samuel A. Pearson. — Mr. Pearson graduated from Dartmouth 
college in 1803, and immediately opened a law office in Lancaster. 
He was a man of fine bearing, good address, and scholarly. He soon 
won a good share of the legal business of the community, and for 
some years had a good practice. In 1812 he was appointed post- 
master, and held that office seventeen years. During this time he 
continued active in the practice of his profession, but for some 
reason, probably the division of his time between his professional 
business and an office that exacted much time and yielded a small 
income, he lost most of his law business. In the later years of his 
practice he often yielded to the temptations bred, no doubt, of his 
impecunious circumstances, to resort to sharp practices to increase 
his income, from which he lost business and standing. He died 
poor, September 2, 1840, at the age of 56. 

William Fai'var. — Mr. Farrar, familiarly known as Squire or 
Deacon Farrar, was a lawyer of a wide practice. His justice docket 
was said to have been the second largest ever known in the county, 
added to which he had, and held, for many years a large clientage. He 
was a popular lawyer, and added to his able reputation he had the 
distinction of having been a classmate of Daniel Webster's, graduating 
from Dartmouth college in 1801. He was a man of genial man- 
ners. He was for many years the support of the choir in the old 
meeting-house on the hill with his bass viol, which instrument he 
played with ability. He died March 3, 1850, at the age of 69. 

Levi Barnard wdiS another early Lancaster law}'er who had a good 
practice for many years. He was noted for the manners and habits he 
affected, which were those of a gentleman of a generation preceding 
his time. He was an able and honorable man, and held in esteem by 
all who knew him. He died Oct. 12, 1832, at the age of 60. 

Charles y. Stewart. — Mr.' Stewart was a graduate of Dartmouth 
college in 1809. Fie was a classmate of the distinguished Levi 
Woodbury. Mr. Stewart was a man of fine address, and of con- 
vivial nature, too fond of drink to give his attention to his business. 
His death, at an early age, was hastened no doubt by intemperate 
habits. He lies interred in the old cemetery on Main street. 

yohn L.. Sheaf e. — Few men in the profession have added so much 
learning and exemplary qualities to it as John L. Sheafe. At an 
early age he opened an office at the North End in 1828, and contin- 
ued in practice here for some years. He left after a time to locate 
in New Orleans in the practice of his profession, and held very high 
rank there as a lawyer. He later returned to Portsmouth, his early 
home, where he died at a ripe old age. 



464 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Hubbard Wilson, a graduate of Harvard, a fine lawyer for so 
young a man, a most thorough scholar, died here in 1819, at the 
home of his father, aged 24. 

Ttirne?' Stephenson. — Mr. Stephenson was born in Lyme, N. H., 
and came to Lancaster when quite a young man. He had been for 
a time a student at Dartmouth college, not graduating however. He 
was a man of honor and strict integrity, highly esteemed by all who 
knew him. He was successful in his profession and acquired con- 
siderable wealth. He was judge of the probate court from 1855 to 
1865. He died Jan. 26, 1872. Although twice married he left 
no children. 

yared W. Williams. — Mr. Williams was born in West Wood- 
stock, Conn., in 1796. He graduated from Brown college (now- 
Brown University) in 18 18, and studied law at the noted law school 
of Litchfield, Conn. He came to Lancaster on some business soon 
after beginning his practice, and liking the town decided to return 
and locate here, which he did in 1822. He opened an office, and 
soon had a good practice. He returned to Connecticut in 1824, to 
bring as his wife Sarah Hawes Bacon, a most estimable lady. Mr. 
Williams received the honorary degree of A. M. from Dartmouth 
college in 1823, and the degree of LL. D. from Brown University 
in 1852. 

As a lawyer Mr. Williams was very successful ; but his taste for 
politics and his sociable and agreeable manners soon opened the 
way for him into public life. He held many offices with ability and 
to the satisfaction of his constituents, hi 1830 he was elected to rep- 
resent Lancaster in the state legislature, and reelected in 1831. 
From 1832 to 1837 he was register of probate. He was elected 
state senator in 1833, and reelected twice during the next 'two years. 
During those last two years in the senate he was its president, and 
presided with dignity and satisfaction, that won him the credit of 
being an able representative of the people. In 1837 he was elected 
to congress from the old Sixth district, and reelected at the expira- 
tion of his first term. He filled this higher office with the same 
ability he had filled the lower ones in the legislature of his state. 
In 1847 he was elected governor of New Hampshire, and again in 
1848. In 1852 he was appointed judge of the probate court. Upon 
the decease of Hon. C. G. Atherton, United States senator, in 1853, 
he was appointed to fill out the unexpired term. In 1864 he was 
delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago, 111. 
His death occurred Sept 29, 1864, at the age of 68. 

Ira Young. — Gen. Ira Young was born in Lisbon, N. H., May 
5, 1794. He was the son of Col. Samuel Young, an officer of 
New Hampshire troops in the Revolutionary War. Ira Young 
received the limited education of the common schools of his town, 





C/U^tx2^^^'^.^ 



^ 



John Sullivan Wells. 



jmi^:^z^-^- 



.'^-.. 




John H. White. 






THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 465 

and at the age of twenty entered the law office of Samuel Swan, a 
noted lawyer of that time at Bath, N. H. After his admission to 
the bar Mr. Young became a partner of Mr. Swan, and remained 
associated with him until his death. After the death of his partner 
Mr. Young continued his practice in Bath, until burned out, losing 
his law library, and all the effects in his office. He then removed 
to Colebrook, where he remained in the practice of his profession 
until 1839, when he came to Lancaster and opened an office, and 
continued in practice until his death in 1845. 

He was a brigadier-general in 1835, when the " Indian Stream 
War " broke out, and was ordered to the frontier to suppress a band 
of organized law-breakers, operating along the Canada line. He 
had but one slight engagement with the rebels, after which he 
cleared the county of them. 

For his promptness and bravery in that short war the legislature 
of his state afterward made a public recognition. 

Having become broken in health in 1845, he sailed for Cuba in 
the hope of restoration ; but on the next day after he landed his 
death occurred. He was buried in the churchyard of the old cathe- 
dral and within a hundred yards of where the ashes of Columbus 
lay. He left a widow and three children, two sons and a daughter. 
The two sons did brave and faithful service in the War of the Rebel- 
lion. H. DeForest Young was captain in the famous Second reg- 
iment of New Hampshire, and served as chief of ordnance of the 
Third Corps, staff of Major General Sickles. Richard Otis, the 
other son, died in hospital. 

yohn Sullivan Wells. — Mr. Wells was a prominent lawyer in 
Lancaster for some years. He was born in Durham, N, H., 1804, 
studied law with Hon. William Mattocks, Danville, Vt., and be- 
gan the practice of his profession at Guildhall, Vt., in 1828, where 
he remained for seven years. He removed to Bangor, Me., in 1835, 
but only remained there one year, when he came to Lancaster and 
opened an office. He practised here ten years, during which time 
he represented the town in the state legislature, and was the speaker 
of the house. He was also solicitor for Coos county, a portion of 
the time he resided here. He was what people are accustomed to 
call a " self-made man." What education he gained was through 
his own unaided efforts. He worked at the trade of cabinet-maker 
to earn nfoney to enable him to attend school. He was an honest 
and industrious man, able and eloquent in the behalf of his client's 
interests. During his residence in Lancaster he did much for the 
improvement of the village. He moved to its present site the L 
part of the Kent block on Main street ; but his best landmark in 
Lancaster is the stone house on Main street, now owned and occu- 
pied by L W. Hopkinson. This remarkable structure was reared 



466 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

from material procured b}- splitting up a gigantic boulder of granite 
near the Northumberland boundary of the town. He removed from 
here to Exeter, and while there was appointed attorney-general in 
1848. He only held that office a short time, resigning to enter 
politics. He was elected to the state senate in 1852, and reelected 
in 1853. During both terms he served as president of the senate. 
He was twice a candidate for governor, 1856-57, but failed election. 
He was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the Hon. Moses 
Norris, deceased, in the United States senate. 

William Heyzvood. — William Heywood was born in Lunen- 
burg, Vt., October, 1804. His education was acquired in the 
academy at Concord, Vt. He read law with Judge Charles Davis 
of Waterford, Vt., and later with William A. Fletcher of Detroit, 
Mich., and was admitted to the bar at Guildhall, Vt., where he 
began his practice. He removed from there to Lancaster in 1854, 
where he acquired a large and profitable clientage. 

Mr. Heywood was a quiet, unassuming man, but methodical and 
conscientious in all his business affairs. He was grave in manners and 
speech, a man of medium height. He was noted for his humor, 
that would flash like lightning from a clear sky at unexpected 
moments. While a resident of Vermont he was state senator in 
i837-'38. He was state's attorney for Essex county for fifteen 
years, and a member of the constitutional convention of Ver- 
mont, 1850. 

\n his religious connections he was Episcopalian and much de- 
voted to his church. It was chiefly through his efforts that his 
denomination was enabled to erect a church here and develop its 
organization. He died in 1893, at the age of eighty-eight years, 
full of honor, and is remembered by all who knew him as an hon- 
ored and useful citizen. No greater compliment could be paid him 
than to say that Rt. Rev. W. W. Niles, bishop of New Hampshire 
diocese, attended the funeral and delivered a eulogy of over an 
hour's length of great power and feeling. It was his first public 
utterance at a funeral in the twenty-five years of his service in the 
state. 

Hiram A. Fletcher. — Hiram A. Fletcher was born at Spring- 
field, Vt., Dec. 14, 1806. During his infancy his parents removed 
to Charlestown, N. H., and later from there to the " Indian Stream " 
country in the northern part of Coos county, now Pittsburg, as one 
of the first settlers. Mr. Fletcher was a man of considerable means, 
and aside from developing a fine farm, built mills, and transacted a 
laro-e amount of business. With but little advantages from schools, 
his son, Hiram A. Fletcher, began reading law at the age of nineteen, 
- in the ofifice of Gen. Seth Cushman, at Guildhall, Vt. Later he 
read law in the offices of J. L. Sheafe and J. W. Williams, in Lan- 





William Hevwood. 



William Burns. 





Jacoi! Uenton. 



Hiram Adams Fletcher. 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 467 

caster, and also with Governor Hubbard of Charlestovvn, N. H. At 
this time he had for a fellow-student Chief Justice John J. Gilchrist, 
who was admitted to the bar with him at Newport, N. H., in 1830. 
Mr. Fletcher opened an office at Springfield, Vt., where he practised 
for a year. In 1833 he opened an office in Colebrook, where he 
practised sixteen years, removing to Lancaster in 1849. He soon 
acquired a good practice here. For many years he had partnerships 
with, first, William Heywood, and later William Burns, and during 
the last four }'ears of his life with his son, Everett Fletcher. He 
was a good lawyer, a close student, and an honored citizen. He 
died Jan. 30, 1879, from consumption, loved and honored by the 
entire community in which he resided for nearly a half centur}-. 

William Burns. — William Burns was born at Hebron, N. H., 
April 25, 1 82 1. He was the son of Dr. Robert Burns, a Scotchman 
of great vigor and persistency of purpose, and a former member of 
congress, from whom the son inherited qualities that enabled him 
to obtain a vast store of knowledge and attain success in his busi- 
ness enterprises. Mr. Burns was fitted for college in the academies 
at Plymouth and New Hampton, and entered Dartmouth college at 
the age of sixteen, graduating with the class of 1841. He was a 
clever and faithful student, always standing well in his classes. 

He chose the law as his profession, and at once entered upon the 
study of it in the ofifice of Judge Wilcox of Orford At a later date 
he entered Harvard college law school, graduating from it in 1843. 
The next year he was admitted to the bar of Grafton county, and 
began the practice of his profession in Littleton, only remaining 
there a little more than a year and a half, when he came to Lan- 
caster and purchased the legal business and interests of John S. 
Wells, opening an ofifice here in May, 1846. In 1847 he was ap- 
pointed by Gov. J. W. Williams as member of his staff with the 
rank of colonel. A little later Governor Williams appointed him 
solicitor for Coos county, which position he held for five years. He 
formed a partnership with the late B. F. Whidden, which lasted 
some years, and later with Hiram A. Fletcher, that lasted for eight- 
een years, during which time they were attorneys for the Grand 
Trunk railroad. Beside this, they held a large clientage, and both 
won distinction as honorable, as well as able, lawyers. In 1869 Mr. 
Burns formed a partnership with Henry Heywood, which lasted 
until 1876, when, on account of ill health, he reluctantly relinquished 
his practice. In politics he was a Democrat, and was recognized 
by his party as one of its truest and ablest advisors and advocates. 
He was an able political speaker, often in demand upon the stump. 
His ability and faithfulness to his party were rewarded by his elec- 
tion to the state senate twice, — 1856-'57. In 1859, 1861, 1863, he 
was a candidate for congress in the old Third district. He was a 



468 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

delegate to the National Democratic Convention in i860. In 1876, 
by a unanimous vote, he was elected a delegate from Lancaster to 
the constitutional convention of New Hampshire. 

In religion Mr, Burns was a pronounced Unitarian, and as loyal 
to his church and religion as he was to his business and politics. 
He died at Plymouth, April 2, 1885, after a long and painful illness 
due to an accident he met with in a railroad wreck many years 
before. He lies buried in the old Livermore churchyard at Holder- 
ness, where are buried many of his ancestors. He was dignified 
and affable in his bearing, of simple tastes and kindly disposition. 
As a lawyer he was eminently successful, due to a large knowledge 
of his profession and his practical common sense and sound judg- 
ment. As an advocate he was strong before a jury in consequence 
of his conscientious, unaffected, simple, and manly style, which 
often rose to a solemn dignity that is rare in forensic oratory. 

George A. Cossitt. — George Ambrose Cossitt was born in Clare- 
mont, the son of Ambrose Cossitt, and of the fifth generation from 
Rene Cossitt, the first of his ancestors, who came to this country 
from France. Mr. Cossitt had good educational advantages in his 
native town, and had free access to the law library of his father, who 
was an able lawyer. 

His father was president of a bank in Claremont, and George 
incidentally picked up much knowledge of the business that became 
of service to him in later years. Mr. Cossitt came to Lancaster 
from Whitefield in 1836. He held the of^ce of register of probate 
from 1837 to 1852, and held the same position under John M. 
Whipple from i860 to 1874. In connection with this office he 
became recognized as an authority on probate law, and was much 
consulted on the subject. He was at one time a partner of S. W. 
Cooper, though never very active in the courts. He also was con- 
nected with the late B. F. Whidden as a law partner for a time, but 
his forte was not in the law practice. He was a man who took life 
easy and was fond of his comforts. Temperate in habits, ardent of 
spirit, and of a kindly disposition, he was yet easily aroused and 
became vehement in manner under excitement or strong feelings. 

He was for ten years cashier of the Lancaster bank. He held 
many ofifices in the town, often acting as an auditor, or member of the 
school committee. He evinced a leaning toward the Roman Catho- 
lic church, though never identified with any sect. For a number of 
years he made his home with his daughter, Mrs. O. H. Kimball, 
where he died December 14, 1895, almost ninety years of age. 

yacob Benton. — Mr. Benton was born in Waterford, Vt., August 
19, 1 8 14. His education was gained at the academies of Lyndon, 
Peacham, Newbury, and Manchester, Vt. He graduated from the 
latter in 1840, and began the study of law in the ofifice of Heaton & 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 469 

Reed, Montpelier, Vt. In the fall of that year he became principal 
of the academy at Concord Corner, Vt., and remained in that posi- 
tion four years. He read law in the office of Judge Henry A. Bel- 
lows at Littleton, N. H. In 1844 he came to Lancaster and entered 
the office of General Ira Young, completing his studies, and was 
admitted to the bar. He formed a partnership with General Ira 
Young in the spring of 1845. After the death of General Young in 
the fall of that year, Mr. Benton conducted an office by himself for 
ten years, when he formed a partnership with Ossian Ray in 1855, 
which lasted for ten years. From 1867 to 1871 he had as partner 
Colonel J. H. Benton, Jr., and H. I. Goss from 1885 to 1887. 
Although he gained a large law practice, Mr. Benton never confined 
himself strictly to his law business, but was a money maker and a 
politician, in which capacities he was successful. He made and lost 
large sums of money. He was a large and strong man of great good 
sense upon every subject, and a power in the town for half a cen- 
tury. In politics he was first a Whig, but when that party broke 
up he became a Republican and was one of its staunchest supporters 
to the day of his death. 

In 1854 he represented Lancaster in the state legislature, and was 
reelected the two following years. He was twice elected to con- 
gress from the Third district in 1867 and 1869, in both of which 
places he made a most creditable record as debater and legislator. 
He was made brigadier-general of the Sixth brigade of state militia 
in 1857. 

As a politician and legislator he was bold, daring, and strong. 
Had he confined himself strictly to his law practice he might easily 
have won great distinction as a lawyer. He had great command of 
terse English, and was a strong antagonist on the stump and before 
a jury. He died Sept. 29, 1892, from an injury received by the 
running away of his horse. He was of a strong family physically 
and mentally. Many of the race besides himself became distin- 
guished as lawyers. He built the Benton manor at the head of 
Main street, and soon after its completion married Louise Dow, 
daughter of General Neal Dow, who survived him but a few years. 

Benjamin F. Whidden. — Benjamin Franklin Whidden was born 
in Greenland, N. H., in December, 1813. When a lad he re- 
moved to Lancaster with his father. His early years in Green- 
land and Lancaster were passed on a farm. At the age of fourteen 
he commenced to learn the trade of cabinet-making, and served 
four years, attending school winters. His preparatory education 
was acquired at Kimball Union academy. He entered Dartmouth 
college in 1836, and was graduated in 1840. He worked at his 
trade, and taught, to defray the greater portion of his expenses. 
He was principal of Lancaster academy several terms. He also 



470 s HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

taught the school in district No. 2, in 1837. He was a capable 
teacher. He then went to Hanover county, Virginia, as a teacher 
in languages and mathematics, and remained until 1845 ! passing 
his vacations in Washington, where he had the use of libraries, and 
the opportunity to hear the foremost men of that day — Webster, 
Clay, Calhoun, Benton, Adams, Marshall, Wright, Choate, McDufifie, 
Preston, and Crittenden. This he highly prized as a most valuable 
part of his education, and that epoch was full of choice memories. 
He returned to Lancaster in 1845, and completed his studies in the 
office of J. W. Williams, and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He 
was appointed school commissioner for Coos county in 1850 and 
1 851; he represented Lancaster in the state legislature in 1849, 
1850, and 1867. His election in 1849 ^^''is under circumstances 
which show the confidence reposed in him. The two parties in 
town were so nearly equal in strength that neither could elect — Mr. 
Whidden being the nominee of the Free-soil party, then largely in 
the minority. He w^as elected not on party issues, but upon his 
honesty, integrity, and ability as a man. He advocated and secured 
the passage of the Homestead law. He was county solicitor from 
1856 to 1863; he was appointed by President Lincoln United 
States commissioner and consul-general to Hayti, on the recogni- 
tion of that government by the United States in 1862, with plenipo- 
tentiary power to conclude a treaty of amity, commerce, and navi- 
gation, and for the extradition of fugitive criminals. The treaty 
was made in 1864, and immediately confirmed by the governments. 
Mr. Whidden did efificient service for the Union in this capacity, 
discharged its duties with gentlemanly courtesy, and was highly 
complimented by Secretary Seward. He resigned his post in 1865, 
on account of ill health, and returned to Lancaster. He was judge 
of probate in 1868, and held the office until 1874; presidential 
elector in 1872, and delegate in 1876 to the Republican national 
convention at Cincinnati. He traveled in Europe in the summer, 
and fall of 1874; after his return he resumed the practice of law at 
Lancaster. 

In 185 I, Mr. Whidden married Eliza Turner Spaulding of Lancas- 
ter. She was a most estimable lady and beloved by all who knew 
her. She died in 1868. l\\ 1874 he married Kate J. Brooks of 
Cincinnati, Ohio. She was a lady of rare mental and personal 
attractions, and much respected by those of her acquaintance. She 
died in 1879. 

Mr. Whidden was especially noted for his exactness, honesty, 
and integrity, and his devotedness to all interests intrusted to his 
care. He had an admiration for the classics of not only the modern 
but the ancient languages. Fine literary tastes and scholastic cul- 
ture, a broad liberality combined with a keen sense of justice, a 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 4/1 

practical intelligence broadened by extensive travel, and a genial, 
kindly spirit, were all united in this true gentleman and scholar. 

George C. Williams. — George Canning Williams was the old- 
est son of Gov. J. W. Williams, born in Lancaster, Aug. 7, 1827. 
He prepared for college at Lancaster academy, and graduated 
from Dartmouth in 1844. He studied law with his father, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1848. He was a young man of brilliant 
powers and a good education. He was county solicitor for a num- 
ber of years, and clerk of the New Hampshire state senate. He 
also represented his town in the legislature in 1859 and i860. In 
1858 he was appointed commissioner of state lands. He became 
cashier of the White Mountain bank, and through speculation in 
Western lands, and over-issue of circulation, the bank became in- 
volved and went into liquidation. He had a large docket, but be- 
came engaged in many other interests, to the detriment of his prac- 
tice, and was unfortunate in his personal habits, dying in 1865. He 
held many positions of trust and honor, was an active trustee of Lan- 
caster academy, and took an interest in education. He was grand 
master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in New Hampshire, 
and also a prominent Free Mason. He never married. 

Ossian Ray. — Ossian Ray was born in Hinesburg, Vt., Dec. 13, 
1835. He was deprived of his mother's care at the early age of 
twelve. After that he lived at Irasburg, Vt., and was engaged in 
out-door labors, with only such educational advantages as the com- 
mon schools afforded. He later spent a few terms at the Irasburg 
academy, and from there entered the academy at Derby, Vt. He 
was fitted for college with the exception of mathematics and Greek. 
The lack of means deprived him of the advantage of a collegiate 
education. Having to give up the hope of a college course, he en- 
tered the law office of Jesse Cooper, and at once commenced the 
study of law. He hungered for knowledge, and with an aptitude 
for public speaking, made good use of his time in acquiring an 
education, obtaining knowledge, and making an application of his 
professional attainments. 

In 1854 he came to Lancaster through the influence of S. W. 
Cooper, a brother of Jesse Cooper of Irasburg, Vt., with whom 
young Ray had been studying law. The object of his coming 
here was to assist Mr. Cooper to close up his business, which had 
become necessary on account of his failing health. Here he formed 
many acquaintances, and after a varied career, teaching school, 
studying law, practising in justice courts, he returned to Lancaster 
in 1855, and formed a partnership with Jacob Benton the following 
year, when but twenty-one years of age. He was admitted to the 
Essex county bar in Vermont that year, and the next year to the 
Coos county bar. During the War of the Rebellion he was deputy 
provost marshal. 



472 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

He advanced very rapidly in his profession, was admitted to prac- 
tice in the United States courts; and in 1872 was admitted to 
practice in the United States supreme court at Washington. Mr. 
Ray possessed many quahties that fitted him to succeed in his cho- 
sen caUing. He was active, persevering, and thoroughly in love 
with his profession, a great worker, rising to the height of every 
occasion, and wonderfully successful. 

When Mr. Benton was elected to congress in 1867 their partner- 
ship was dissolved, and , he entered into partnership with W. S. 
Ladd, with whom he continued until Mr. Ladd was appointed to 
the bench of the supreme court in 1870. 

In 1872 Mr. Ray took Irving W. Drew into his oflfice to finish his 
studies. From 1873 to 1876 he had William Heywood as a partner. 

Chester B. Jordan, who had just been admitted to the bar, suc- 
ceeded Mr. Heywood in the firm. In January, 1882, Philip Car- 
penter was admitted into the firm, which was then Ray, Drew, Jor- 
dan & Carpenter. After one year Mr. Ray withdrew, and was with- 
out a partner until 1885, when G. W. Patterson was associated with 
him for about a year. For years he was attorney for the Grand 
Trunk Railway Company and many other large corporations. 

Like many other Lancaster lawyers, Mr. Ray was drawn into pol- 
itics. In iS6S-'6g he represented Lancaster in the state legislature. 
From 1862 to 1872 he was county solicitor for Coos county. In 
1879 he was appointed by President Hayes United States Attor- 
ney for the District of New Hampshire. He resigned this ofifice, 
however, in 1880, to become a candidate for congress, to fill the 
unexpired term of Hon. Evarts W. Farr, deceased. He was elected 
at a special election in December, 1880, by a larger majority than 
his opponent had votes, and at once entered upon his duties, serving 
the short and long terms. He was reelected by a large majority in 
1882 to represent the Second Congressional district, formed by a 
redistricting of the state while he was serving his first term. 

In congress he was active, doing much to promote the interests 
of his constituents. He was instrumental in reducing letter postage, 
placing a bounty on sugar, and helping the soldiers. Mr. Ray died 
Jan. 28, 1892, leaving a widow and four children. His funeral was 
from the Congregational church, and was attended by a great num- 
ber of friends from far and near. He had been a progressive, gen- 
erous man all his life, doing much for the town, and his death was 
widely mourned. 

William Spencer Ladd was born in Dalton, Sept. 5, 1830. At- 
tended the schools of Dalton and Whitefield, graduated from Dart- 
mouth college in 1855, taught for a year in Massachusetts, then 
entered the law ofifice of Hon. A. A. Abbott of Salem, where he 
remained till 1858, when he was called back to Dalton. He soon 





Turner Stephenson. 



Benj. Fkaxki.in Whiuden. 





OssiAN Rav. 



William S. Ladd. 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 473 

entered the office of Burns & Fletcher, was admitted in 1859, mar- 
ried July 5, i860, to Miss Mira B. Fletcher. Mr. Ladd went to Cole- 
brook, opened an office, and remained till 1867, when he returned to 
Lancaster and formed a copartnership with Hon. Ossian Ray. They 
made a strong team, a most excellent combination. Mr. Ray was 
bold, venturesome, magnetic; Mr. Ladd quiet, conservative, me- 
thodical, discriminating. In the drawing of papers no one excelled 
him in the state. He was not an easy talker, but wielded a facile 
pen. Their services were in demand fn New Hampshire and Ver- 
mont. Their business reached extensively into the Federal courts. 
Oct. 31, 1870, Mr. Ladd was appointed judge of our highest court. 
In 1 874 the court was reconstructed and made into two — a trial and 
a law court. Judge Ladd was one of the three constituting the lat- 
ter, under the name of the Superior Court of Judicature. Here he 
remained until both courts were legislated out of existence in 1876, 
and the present supreme court instituted in their stead. The 
judge resumed practice and had a large clientage. His opinions 
rank high as sound exposition of the law, gracefully, strongly stated. 
He was appointed state reporter of the court decisions in 1883. In 
1887 Dartmouth college conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. 
A year or two before his death he began to fail physically. Travel 
and rest were resorted to for a balm. Only temporary relief was 
afforded. May 12, 1891, his great labors on earth came to a suc- 
cessful close. Bishop Niles and several of the Episcopal clergy 
were in attendance upon his funeral on the 15th of the same month. 
He was a ripe scholar, an able jurist. 

In addition to these lawyers named and commented upon, all of 
whom have done their work and passed away, there are remaining 
fn practice a number, among whom are some of the ablest men the 
county and town have ever been honored to own as residents. 

y. I. Williams. — Jared I. Williams, son of Gov. J. W. Williams, 
studied law, was admitted to the bar, and is still in practice. About 
1856 he was editor of the Cods County Democrat. After his con- 
nection with the newspaper, he took up civil engineering, for which 
he had prepared himself in Brown university. 

Heni-y O. Kent. — Colonel Kent was admitted to the bar in 1858, 
but gave up active practice in the courts a few years later. His 
partners were Hon. Turner Stephenson, later judge of probate, to 
1 86 1, and Hon. William Heywood in department claims, 1866. 
Later he was for twelve years editor and owner of the Cods Repub- 
lican, and has since been connected with manufacturing, insurance, 
and banking, being now president of the Lancaster Trust Company 
and treasurer of the Lancaster Savings bank. 

He is the senior trustee of Norwich university, where he gradu- 
ated in 1854, and which institution has since conferred upon him the 
honorary degrees of A. M. and LL. D. 



474 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Moses A. Hastings. — Mr. Hastings qualified and entered upon 
the practice of law in 1868. He was for a time in Gorham, until 
appointed clerk of the courts of Coos county in 1874, which posi- 
tion he still holds, consequently he has not practised since then. 
He was born in Bethel, Me., and came from that town here. He 
is a man of sterling integrity and great scope of mind. 

F. D. Hntc/ifns. — Mr. Hutchins studied law, was admitted to the 
bar of Coos county, and practised from 1876 to 1 881, as partner of 
Hon. Jacob Benton, when he became cashier of the Lancaster Na- 
tional bank. He still holds that position, and has not practised since 
thus engaged except in such cases as are connected with the bank. 

Heni'y Hcy-ivood. — Henry Heywood, son of Hon. William Hey- 
wood, born in Guildhall, Dec. 6, 1835, graduated from Dartmouth 
scientific department in 1855, ^^^^s in Wisconsin as civil engineer 
until 1857, was admitted in i860, and has been engaged in the 
practice of law in Lancaster since 1869, with success. Before 1869 
he was at Guildhall, Vt. He has had as partners, Hon. William 
Burns and his father. 

Eve7-ett Fletcher. — Mr. Fletcher is a son of the late H. A. 
Fletcher, was born in Colebrook, Dec. 23, 1848, has been in 
the practice of law in Lancaster since his admission to the bar in 
1870. He now has as a partner, Fletcher Ladd. Mr. Fletcher is a 
close lawyer, painstaking and methodical. He was on Gov. Samuel 
Hale's staff as judge advocate general and was made judge of pro- 
bate in 1885, having a long and useful term of ofifice. 

Fletcher Ladd. — Fletcher Ladd is a son of W. S. Ladd, and for 
some years has practised law in association with his uncle, Everett 
Fletcher. He is a graduate of Dartmouth and of the law school. 
He is a man of fine attainments in law and literature. Has traveled 
much in foreign lands and has a fine mind stored with choice 
knowledge. He is a learned man. 

Irving W. Drezu. — Irving W. Drew was born in Colebrook, Jan. 
8, 1845, of excellent parentage and one of a large family of 
children. He inherited a generous store of common sense. He 
fitted for college in the schools at home, at Colebrook academy, 
and Kimball Union Academy, graduating from the latter in 1866, 
and from Dartmouth in 1870, and immediately entered the law 
oflfice of Ray & Ladd. In 1871 he was admitted into partnership 
with Ray & Heywood. His partners since then have been C. B. 
Jordan, Philip Carpenter, and Will P. Buckley. He soon developed 
into a strong man, and has been growing till now. He is a logical, 
analytical, persuasive speaker before jury, courts, and upon the 
platform. He is engaged in much important litigation in and out 
of New Hampshire, and his advice and services are often sought in 
large business transactions running up into millions of dollars. He 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 475 

has been an ardent political worker for others, but declined that sort 
of preferment for himself. He has often refused to be a candidate 
for congress, but did once consent to be state senator, making an 
admirable record. He has been delegate to four Democratic 
national conventions and was major in the Third regiment. New 
Hampshire National Guard. In November, 1869, he married Miss 
Carrie B. Merrill, daughter of Hon. S. R. Merrill of Colebrook. He 
is generous, active and efficient in all good work and projects for his 
town. He has a large library which is in constant use. 

Chester Bradley 'Jordan came to Lancaster from Colebrook, 
where he was born Oct. 15, 1839, to take the office of clerk of the 
court June i, 1868. He served as such clerk until Oct. 23, 1874. 
In the meantime he had been reading law and November, 1875, was 
admitted to the bar. In May, 1876, he was made a member of the 
firm of Ray & Drew, and has been with Mr. Drew ever since. In 
1 88 1 he w^as admitted to the federal courts. 

He was elected town representative in 1880, by one majority, 
making a net gain for his party in town that year of loi votes. 
Although it was his first year as a legislator, he was unanimously 
nominated by the Republican caucus for speaker of the house and 
elected by a handsome vote. 

In 1867 Governor Harriman offered him a place on his staff, but it 
was declined,, but in 1872 he served on the staff of Governor Straw. 
In 188 1 Dartmouth college conferred upon him the degree of A. B. 
In 1883 he was made an honorary member of the Third regiment 
of New Hampshire National Guard ; a member of the Webster 
Historical Society of Massachusetts; in 1884 of the Seventh New 
Hampshire Veteran Association ; has long been a member of the 
New Hampshire Historical Society ; for several years first vice-presi- 
dent of the Grafton and Coos Bar Association ; is the oldest member 
— save six — in time of service of Evening Star Lodge of over 100 
Masons ; has held position in one or the other of the Lancaster banks 
ever since the National was established, and is a member of the 
Sons of the Revolution. In the fall of 1 896 he was elected state 
senator from the first district by a very large vote, and unanimously 
chosen president of that body. 

In the thirty years of his residence in Lancaster he has done 
what he could for the town, and no town-meeting except one, has 
been held in which he has not borne his part. July 19, 1879, he 
married Miss Ida R. Nutter, a Lancaster girl. 

He has rendered efficient public service and his home life and 
intercourse with the people of the town have been worthy of the 
commendation and good-will that have followed them. 

Williajn H. Shiirtleff. Mr. Shurtleff began the study of law in 
Lancaster in 1862, but dropped it to enter the war service in 1864. 



4/6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

He, however, completed his studies upon his return from the service, 
and was admitted to practise in 1866. He practised in Colebrook 
until 1892, when he located in Lancaster, and is now associated 
with Edmund Sullivan in the practice of his profession, in addition 
to holding the office of fish and game commissioner. He is a man 
of good sense and judgment, and a genial soul, socially. 

W/// P. Buckley came from Littleton to Lancaster seven years 
ago, soon after graduating from Dartmouth, where he held high rank 
as a scholar and an athlete. He united with the firm of Drew, 
Jordan & Buckley, and is a member yet. He is strong mentally and 
physically, and although a young man is in the forefront of the 
lawyers of the state. He has a quick, discerning mind full of logic 
and analysis. He is a thorough scholar, easily mastering and 
remembering any literary subject. His distinctions are finely yet 
practically drawn, and he is, withal, very popular among all classes. 
He married Miss Lizzie F. Drew in 1891. 

Edmimd SitUivan began his practice in Lancaster in 1891, and 
formed a partnership with W. H. Shurtleff, under the firm name of 
Shurtleff & Sullivan. He was born here, is getting a good business, 
and is bright and active. He is thorough in his work. 

Merrill Shurtlef was admitted to the bar in 1896. He also is 
a Dartmouth graduate and a young man of excellent character and 
abilities. He is with Drew, Jordan & Buckley, where he has been 
ever since leaving college. He has been a close student, is a good 
lawyer, and will be heard from in the near future. He married in 
June, 1897, Miss Emily Porter, one of Lancaster's many good girls. 

Harry B. Amey, A. B., Dartmouth; Charles Fred Cleaveland, 
A. B., Dartmouth; and Henry Percy Kent, LL. B., Boston univer- 
sity, were admitted to the bar in 1898. Mr. Amey removed to 
Milton, Mr. Cleaveland and Mr. Kent commencing practice in Lan- 
caster. 

THE PHYSICIANS OF LANCASTER. 

The first physician, so far as can be learned, that practised medi- 
cine in Lancaster, was Dr. Samuel White. He was located in New- 
bury, Vt., in 1773, and visited Lancaster professionally for several 
years. Dr. White died on "Jefferson Hill," Newbur}', Vt., Jan. 25, 
1848, aged 98 years. Dr. Francis Wilson was probably the first 
physician to locate here. The exact date of his coming cannot 
now be learned. A Dr. Chapman soon followed the example of 
Dr. Wilson and located here. These two attended the people in 
their sickness for many years. I find among the many papers left by 
Gen. Edwards Bucknam a receipt from one Dr. Gott, as follows : 
" Lunenburgh may 13th, 1783. Received of Edw'ds Bucknam one 
Pound, four Shillings as a gratis for my Coming up and Settling In 





Eliphalet Lyman, M. D. 



Benjamin Hunking, M. D. 





Jacob E. Stickney, M. D. 



John W. Harney, M. D. 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 47/ 

the Practice of Physick in Lunenburg as witness my hand Nath'l. 
Gott." 

(He was elsewhere referred to as " Revd. Nath'l. Gott.") 

From this transaction I infer that Dr. Gott must have practised in 
Lancaster also. About the time of the Revolutionary War there 
was an old lady by the name of Stalbird living in Jefferson, who 
practised as a nurse and " Doctress." She was familiarly known as 
" Granny Stalbird." These held undisputed sway in their profes- 
sion in Lancaster until 1796, just a century ago this year, when 
Dr. Samuel Legro, an intelligent and skilful physician, came here 
to settle in the practice of medicine and surgery. He soon won 
distinction as a man of great wisdom, skill, and usefulness. He 
was a genial character, liked by all men. He lived to the ripe old 
age of 79. He left descendants who have filled many useful places 
in society. 

In 1805, Dr. Benjamin Hunking of Newbury, Vt., located in 
Lancaster in the practice of his profession. He was a graduate of 
the medical department of Dartmouth college. He built up a very 
extensive practice, which he held for many years, although di- 
viding his time between his profession, politics, and ofifice-holding. 
He was judge of probate from 1829 to 1852. During the War of 
18 1 2 he received a commission as assistant surgeon of the United 
States navy. . He was stationed at several stations and aboard 
ship during the entire period of the war. On his return from the 
navy he married Drusilla, daughter of Judge Everett. His life was 
spent in Lancaster, where he died in 1868, at the age of 86. 

In 181 5, Dr. Eliphalet Lyman, a native of Connecticut and a 
graduate of Dartmouth college, located in Lancaster and soon built 
up an extensive practice in medicine and surgery. He was a faithful 
and able physician. After many years he gave up his profession 
and opened an of^ce as a justice of the peace. He was active in 
Masonry, and did much to promote it in Lancaster. He died at the 
Coos hotel of paralysis, July 19, 1858. 

The next physician to locate here was Dr. Jacob E. Stickney 
of Maine. He came to Lancaster in 1821, and followed the prac- 
tice of medicine until his death in 1869. He was successful and 
much liked as an able physician, and a true and genial friend. 
He had as partner for a time Dr. George T. Dexter, of Boston, 
Mass. I find their card in the White Mountain y^gis of October 
23, 1838, during its first year of publication in Lancaster, announcing 
that they offered their services to their friends and the public in 
medicine and surgery, and that Dr. Dexter was prepared to per- 
form all operations in dentistry. So far as I have been able to 
ascertain. Dr. Dexter was the first to practise dentistry in Lancas- 
ter. 



478 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

In 1843, Dr. John W. Barney of St. Johnsbury, Vt., located here, 
and won the recognition and confidence of the people as an able 
physician. For many years he held a large practice; but, like other 
physicians of Lancaster, he had political tastes and aspirations. In 
1868 he was elected to represent the old Twelfth Senatorial dis- 
trict in the New Hampshire legislature. He was reelected in 1869. 
At a later date he went to Concord, to live, and remained there 
until his death in 1883. He was buried in the Summer Street 
Cemetery, finding a resting-place in the town he served so long and 
loved so well. 

Dr. Freedom Dinsmore, a retired physician of considerable prom- 
inence, lived in Lancaster from 1846 to the time of his death in 

1863. 

Dr. James D. Folsom practised medicine here from 1853 to about 
1870, and removed to St. Johnsbury, Vt., where he continued his 
work. 

One Charles Going, son of Asahel the clothier, practised here 
for some years. A talented young man, but died from effects of 
intemperance at the age of twenty-six. 

Dr. John W. Bucknam, a grandson of Gen. Edwards Bucknam, 
one of the first settlers of Lancaster, practised his profession here 
for some years before the War of the Rebellion ; and, on the break- 
ing out of the war, received a commission as assistant surgeon in the 
famous Fifth N. H. Regiment, and was with it through the service. 
He died at Somersworth, in 1869. 

Until 1880 Dr. Frank Bugbee enjoyed a very extensive practice 
here for many years. In 1880 he, with his entire family, consisting 
of his wife, daughter, his wife's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Barton G. 
Towne, met tragic deaths by poison, administered, as it was sup- 
posed, by a young woman living in the family. Upon the exami- 
nation of the contents of several of the stomachs of the victims 
arsenic was found in quantities sufificient to cause death. 

Dr. M. R. Woodbury practised here about the same time. 

Dr. Frank A. Colby was born in Colebrook in 1852, and came 
to Lancaster with his father, the late E. L. Colby, at the age of 
two years. He was educated here and at Phillips Exeter acad- 
emy, and received his degree of M. D. from Dartmouth college. He 
practised his profession here for a time, and also was in the drug 
trade in company with E. B. Hamblen for some years. He later 
sold out, and located in the practice of medicine in Berlin, where he 
died from the effects of an incurable trouble, which induced acute 
heart disease, July 15, 1896. 

Dr. Oscar Worthley, formerly a surgeon in the Second Regiment 
N. H. Vols., located here in the practice of his profession, and con- 
tinued until the time of his death in 1890. 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 479 

The physicians now here in the activ-e practice of medicine and 
surgery are : 

Dr. Ezra Mitchell, who came from Maine in 1871, and has en- 
joyed an extensive and profitable practice. Dr. Emmons F. Stock- 
well, a descendant of Emmons Stockwell, one of the founders of 
the town, located here in practice of medicine in 1871. He, too, 
has enjoyed a large and profitable practice. In 1886 Dr. W. H. 
Leith of Haverhill, a graduate of the Medical school of Dart- 
mouth college, settled here in the practice of medicine and surgery. 
He has met with success, and has built up a wide practice. 

In the fall of 1895, Dr. H. B. Carpenter of St. Johnsbury, Vt., 
a graduate of Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York city, 
located here in the practice of medicine and surgery, and has met 
with encouragement. 

These physicians, so far mentioned, have all been of the regular, 
or allopathic school. Lancaster has had as representatives of the 
homoeopathic school, the following ph}'sicians : 

Dr. C. E. Roweil, Dr. Daniel L. Jones, and Dr. Frank Spooner. 
The latter two are still here in practice. 

Dr. Francis L. Town, a native of Lancaster, commenced the prac- 
tice here about 1858, but entered the army as assistant surgeon iin 
1 86 1, rising through all the grades to be colonel and assistant sur- 
geon-general,. U. S. A. He is now on the retired list. 

DENTISTS. 

For many years in Lancaster, as in every other community, den- 
tistry consisted solely in " pulling teeth," and was practised either by 
the physicians, or by men of little skill and with nerve enough to use 
the turnkey or a pair of rude forceps. Very soon after dentistry 
became a specialty, the art was introduced in Lancaster by Dr. 
George T. Dexter, who came here from Boston, Mass., in 1838, 
and entered into partnership with Dr. Jacob E. Stickney, paying 
attention to dentistry. 

The next dentist of which we have any certain knowledge was 
Dr. Stocking. He is referred to in a diary kept by the late Richard 
P. Kent as " treating teeth," and " making artificial teeth," in 1846. 
He practised here for some years. The next person to follow the 
practice of dentistry here was Dr. E. G. Cummings. He had his 
office at his residence in the old Deacon Farrar house, now the par- 
sonage of the Catholic church, and in Kent's building from 1853. 
After many years of successful practice he left to locate in Concord, 
N. H., where he has been ever since. 

Dr. George O. Rogers practised the profession here for some 
years, and then went to China, where he enjoyed royal patronage 
for a period of ten years, making a fortune out of his labor. He 



48o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

returned to his native country, and is located somewhere in Oregon. 
When he left Lancaster his place was taken by Dr. B. T. Olcott, 
who had studied with him. Dr. Olcott was here some years, and 
then removed to Keene, N. H., where he is still in practice. 

When Dr. Olcott left here he was succeeded by Dr. E. B. Gush- 
ing, who after some few years of successful practice, left Lancaster 
to locate in Laconia, N. H., where he is still. Dr. Gushing was 
succeeded in i88i by Dr. S. B. Wellington, who for ten years 
enjoyed a good business here in the same oflfice that Drs. Olcott 
and Gushing had occupied — over the Lancaster National bank. 

When Dr; Wellington left, his practice was taken by Dr. W. H. 
Thompson, who had studied with him, and had then just graduated 
from the Philadelphia Dental college. Dr. Thompson has enjoyed 
a good practice, and still remains in the old office. 

About the time that Dr. Wellington began practice here, Dr. O. 
H. Kimball opened an office and practised for the period of fifteen 
years, at the end of which he retired upon his farm a few miles ea.st 
of the village. 

Dr. Kimball's practice was taken by Dr. A. W. Wark, who had 
just graduated from the Philadelphia Dental college, and who has 
continued in the practice to the present time with success. 

DRUGGISTS. 

For nearly a century Lancaster could not boast of such a thing 
as an " apothecary shop." In fact few New England villages of 
its size, and so remote from the large cities, had such an enterprise, 
now so well-nigh indispensable to every community. 

I find that David Page was presented with a bill for medicine, but 
by whom I cannot learn, amounting to 8 pounds, 13 shillings, 6 
pence, under three items as follows : "To medicine for your family ; 
to medicine for your family and chatties; to Gum Camphor for 
yourself." This was probably from some merchant of the earliest 
period of the settlement. 

Near the middle of the present century the merchants began to 
include in their stocks of medicines a larger variety of new drugs 
and proprietary remedies. The earliest inhabitants used but few 
remedies besides the herbs reputed to possess curative powers. 
Many of these were wild herbs found growing about the country, 
and not a few of them gained their reputation through Indian tra- 
ditions. After physicians began to locate here the number of drugs 
and proprietary remedies used increased so that the merchants 
brought quite large stocks of them when they made their trips to 
the cities for goods. In the first issue of the White Mountain 
y^gis, a newspaper published at Lancaster, May 22, 1838, I find 
this advertisement of drugs and medicines by Kent & Porter : 



THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS. 48 1 

" Kent & Porter, Main street, Lancaster. Have for sale, a good assortment of 
drugs and medicines, among whicli may be found the following : Tartaric, muri- 
atic, proligenous, sulphuric and nitric acid; crude antimonia; carbonate, aqua, 
and spirits of ammonia ; Newton's and Richardson's bitters ; Thompson's eye- 
water ; salt rheum, pile and itch ointment; bayberry, cascarilla, winter, peruvian 
and prickly ash bark ; aloes, arable, assofoetida, guiacum, shellac, and copal gum ; 
senna, uva ursa, and digitalis leaves; peppermint, wormwood, lemon, hemlock, 
annis, cedar, cloves, origanum, croton, harlem, spike, amber, soap, British, cas- 
tor, and olive oil; Thayer's, Lamott's, Newton's, Hygean, Brandreth's, Kingley's, 
and Lee's pills ; Dover and James's powders ; blistering, mercurial, adhesive, 
Oliver's, diachylon, plasters; rosemary, senneka, columbo, gentian, jalap, San- 
ders, squills, snake, epicac, curcania, arrow, valerian, and pink root ; Epsom, 
glauber, tartar ammonia, and lemon salts ; carbonate of soda ; arsenic ; Ander- 
son's cough drops; borax; balsam copavia ; pulmonary do.; chloride of lime ; 
castile soap ; calomel ; cream tartar ; cammomile flowers ; castor fiber ; corrosive 
sublimate ; colocynth ; cowage ; coculus indicus ; carbonate of iron ; paragoric 
and propriettatis elixer ; hyoscyamus and belladonna extract ; iodine ; licorice ; 
lapis caliminus ; red lavender ; magnesia ; Moore's essence of life ; acetate of 
morphine; nux vomica; oxide bismuth; red precipitate; phosphate of iron; 
picra ; quick silver; quinine; quassia; rheubarb ; squills; sulphuric ether; 
spirits of nitre ; saffron; tincture muriatic iron; unguentum ; white vitriol, etc., 
etc., etc." 

A rival firm, B. H. Chadbourn & Co., had an advertisement in the 
same issue of the paper bearing date of May 15th, one week earher 
than the first issuing of the paper, as follows : 

' ' Preserve Your Health ! Call on the subscribers and (amongst many other 
very important articles), you will find the following Valuable Medicines, which are 
genuine : Newton's Panacea, Remedy for Dispelling Pain, Jaundice Bitters, Pul- 
monary Balsam, Eye Water, Cathartic Pills, Itch Ointment ; Lee's Pills ; Thayer's 
Pills ; Ewen's Pills ; Moors Essence of Life ; Thayer's Oil Soap ; opodeldoc ; gum 
camphor ; picra ; Cort Peru ; Rhad Rhei ; sugar lead : cantharides ; opium ; mag- 
nesia, &c., &c. All of which are genuine and of the best quality. 

" They have also a few dozen of Doct. Brandreth's Pills, which they recommend 
to be Counterfeit, and warranted good for nothingl Honesty is the best policy. 
B. H. Chadbourn & Co. Lancaster, May 15." 

In the same number of the paper we find the following advertise- 
ment : 

''Pulmonary Balsam and Brandreth's Pills. Dr. Carter's Compound Pulmonary 
Balsam — Brandreth's Vegetable Universal Pills, and Moors Essence of Life, for 
sale by William T. Carlisle. Lancaster, May 22, 1838." 

While many of the remedies of those early times were proprietary, 
it will be seen that vast quantities of drugs, in the bulk, were kept by 
merchants from which physicians' prescriptions, or private formulas, 
were filled. The parties selling drugs were not required to under- 
stand the properties of their goods, nor the rules governing their 
compounding. That was left for the physicians and the purchaser 
to do on their own responsibility. 

In 1856, Dr. John W. Barney opened a regular drug store, the 
31 



482 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

first one in Lancaster. It was on the spot now occupied by Colby's 
drug store, on Main street. He conducted a successful business 
there for a number of years. He took Edward Savage into partner- 
ship with him, and in 1868 sold out to Savage, who continued until 
1873, when he sold out to Dr. Frank Colby. Dr. Colby took his 
brother, Charles F. Colby, into the firm in 1876. The latter is still 
in the business at the same stand. 

In 1868, Parker J. Noyes of Columbia came to Lancaster, and 
bought the two-story building erected by T. S. Hall, who married 
Mary Page, — the building standing on the corner of Main and Bun- 
ker Hill streets, where James M. Rix's bookstore was previous to 
the fire that destroyed his stock in 1846; which store was originally 
the George F. Hartwell store, standing where E. Sullivan's house 
now is. Mr. Noyes opened a retail drug store on a very modest 
scale, later buying the medicines and good will from the Kent 
store. His success soon made it necessary to enlarge the build- 
ing, and from time to time the same building has been thus added 
to until now it is a large structure, but still being outgrown by the 
healthy growth of his trade. This growth was due to the man- 
ufacture of medicines, not of the so-called " patent medicines," but 
standard remedies carried by the regular drug trade, and also for 
physicians. That portion of Mr. Noyes's business has been of chief 
importance, although he has always conducted the largest retail 
drug store in northern New Hampshire. 

Mr. Noyes has possessed a genius for invention, in both chemical 
processes and mechanical appliances. As manufacturing chemist 
he felt the need of improved machinery, and not finding what he 
needed in the market, he made it. More than ten years ago he 
invented a " pill machine," that still holds the first place in ma- 
chinery for that process. In addition to that important piece of 
machinery he has improved several others, adding greatly to their 
usefulness. The most remarkable piece of machinery used in his 
extensive laboratory is his " automatic forming and coating ma- 
chine," for the manufacture of pills and tablets. This ingeniously 
devised machine forms the tablet and coats it all in one machine 
and process. This permits using any kind of effervescent material 
for coatings, such as chocolate and sugar of milk. The coatings 
are made by a dry process. The machine, with one attendant, turns 
out 5,000 tablets per hour. He is now using three of them in his 
laboratory, and turning out an enormous product to meet the grow- 
ing demands from the regular drug trade and physicians. An 
important feature of the business of the P. J. Noyes Manufacturing 
Co., which was formed with a $50,000 capital in 1889, is filling 
physicians' orders for their own prescriptions. Upon this new 
machine and its processes Mr. Noyes holds five patents. The 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 483 

mechanical work on it was done by the Thompson Manufacturing 
Co. of Lancaster. The P. J. Noyes Manufacturing Co. have em- 
ployed much of the time for the last few years as many as thirty 
persons in their laboratory, and just at the present time they are 
enlarging it by the fitting up of a large building adjoining their own 
building as an annex to their already large laboratory. 

In 1892, Charles A. Graves opened a drug store in the Kimball 
block, corner of Main and Elm streets, in which he continued until 
the fall of 1895, when he sold out to George W. Carpenter of Lis- 
bon. Mr. Carpenter has conducted the business since then with 
success. He manufactures a few proprietary remedies, chief among 
which is " Merrill's Sarsaparilla," which has met with considerable 
favor at home and abroad. 



CHAPTER Xin. 

FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 

Masons — Odd Fellows — Knights of Pythias — Catholic Order of For- 
esters — Knights of the Maccabees — Grand Army of the Republic — 
Woman's Relief Corps — Woman's Christian Temperance Union — 
Washingtonian Temperance Society — Sons of Temperance — Good 
Templars — Friendship Temperance Club — Patrons of Husbandry. 

MASONRY IN LANCASTER. 

North Star Lodge, No. 8, A. F. & A. M.—ln lygy the fol- 
lowing persons, all Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, residents 
of Lancaster and Northumberland, petitioned the grand lodge " to 
be erected and constituted a regular lodge of Free and Accepted 
Masons " : George Kimball, John Weeks, Mills DeForest, Thomas 
Burnside, Edmund Head, Jabez Parsons, Samuel Phelps, John J. 
French, William Cargill, Nathaniel Wales, HoUoway Taylor, Josiah 
Sawyer, James Chamberlain, Azariah Webb, and Warren Cook. 

Their petition was granted Dec. 18, 1797, and a charter issued 
under the title and designation of North Star lodge. No. 8. George 
Kimball was appointed master; John J. French, senior warden; 
John Weeks, junior warden ; " with power and authority to con- 
vene as Masons within the town of Northumberland, and state of 
New Hampshire." 

Not until Jan. 21, 1800, at the annual election, did the lodge have 
a full list of ofificers. They were as follows : Samuel Phelps, W. M. ; 
Daniel Dana, J. W. ; Artemas Wilder, treasurer; Richard C. Ever- 
ett, secretary; Warren Cook, S. D. ; Joseph Dyer, S. D. 

It is not known if, or for how long, George Kimball served as 



484 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

W. M., nor when the first election of officers was held, as the records 
are too meager to determine these questions. James Chamberlain 
was W. M. in 1798. Special communications were frequent in the 
early years of the lodge. The opening was on the Entered Appren- 
tice degree, and all business of the lodge was done on that degree, 
Fellow Craft and Master Masons lodges being opened only for the 
purpose of conferring these degrees and delivering lectures. 

The communication of Jan. 21, 1799, was the last one held in 
Northumberland. Although North Star lodge was by charter 
located in Northumberland, then a more prosperous village than 
Lancaster, it was removed to the latter place in 1800. A commu- 
nication from the grand lodge in January, 1800, shows that a 
request for its removal was made, and granted. 

The first communication of the lodge in Lancaster was a special 
Feb. 1 1, 1800. The lodge had a hall about 1804. frequently referred 
to in the Lancaster Bridge Records — as " Masonic Hall " — standing 
where L W. Drew's house is. This building came down town and 
is now a part of Syndicate block. The lodge in 1852 met in a hall 
then but recently used by the Sons of Temperance — over Harvey 
Adams's blacksmith shop, where the Monahan shop now is, then in 
the hall of the American House, W. G. Wentworth, then in 1854 in 
rooms over R. P. Kent's store, then over D. A. Burnside's store de- 
stroyed by fire in 1878, where Eagle block now is, then in 1859 in 
the hall fitted up by the Odd Fellows over the town hall, and since 
1888 in its present commodious quarters in the building which the 
Masonic corporation owns. 

During the first years of the lodge the fees were twenty cents for 
each member each communication attended, making yearly dues of 
two dollars and forty cents. 

The lodge celebrated St. John Baptist's day (June 24) 1801, 
in due form, but privately. That was the first time it had cele- 
brated this anniversary. At the second regular election of the 
lodge, Jan. 19, 1802, Stephen Wilson was chosen W. M. Dur- 
ing that year the lodge passed through some serious troubles, 
and it was seriously attempted to return the charter. After much 
discussion on various occasions, it was voted, Aug. 17, 1802, " that 
the charter shall not be returned." Previous to 1803, it had been 
customary to elect officers at any communication that suited the 
convenience of the lodge ; but it was voted on December 20th of 
that year to comply with the request of the grand lodge, and elect 
officers annually in December. The working hours during those 
early years were long and often tedious, from i to 8 in the after- 
noon. 

In 1806, differences again disturbed the lodge, and in April the 
move to return the charter was voted down by a slender majority. 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 485 

The records of that year are missing ; but it is known that Stephen 
Wilson was re-elected W. M. On June 2, 1807, it was voted "to 
return the charter of the lodge to the grand lodge;" and Daniel 
Dana, J. M. Tillotson, and Elijah Foote were appointed a com- 
mittee to take charge of records, jewels, implements, and property 
of the lodge, and return the charter to the grand lodge. 

Some time before 18 14, when the records take up the narrative of 
the lodge, it had been revived by vote of the grand lodge, with 
Stephen Wilson, W. M., he having held that position for eight 
years. St. John's day was observed in 1815, the first time it was 
publicly observed by the lodge. The members, in a body, marched 
to the old meeting-house where an address was delivered by Rev. 
Dyer Berge, after which they proceeded to their hall at the North 
End and partook of refreshments. 

The first visitation of the grand master of New Hampshire to 
North Star lodge occurred Sept. 3, 181 5, when William H. Wood- 
ward, G. M., delivered an address. During that year the records 
show that the sum of $10 was voted to Jeremy L. Cross in consid- 
eration of his services as a lecturer, in which capacity and through 
the publication of several editions of his " Hieroglyphic Monitor," 
and as an organizer of lodges, he won a national reputation and dis- 
tinction. 

During the^ first twenty years or more the only elective offices were 
W. M., S. W., J. W., secretary, treasurer, representative to the grand 
lodge, and financial committee. On March 4, 181 7, the by-laws were 
changed so as to bring the annual communication in March instead 
of December as before. On April ist of that year it was voted to 
adopt and wear the white aprons, not previously in use. St. John's 
day, 1817, was observed by an address by Benjamin Hunking at 
the old meeting-house, and refreshments at the inn of William and 
Noyes Dennison, later known as the "American House," situated on 
the corner of Main and Elm streets, where Kimball's block now 
stands. At the annual communication of March 9, 18 19, William 
Lovejoy was elected W. M. He appointed the wardens, the first 
instance of the kind in the history of the lodge, as they had before 
been elected. At the celebration of St. John's day, 18 19, the 
address was given by Eliphalet Lyman, followed by a " sumptions 
dinner" at William Cargill's, after which the brethren retired to their 
hall and " drank a goodly number of regular and volunteer toasts 
under the direction of a toast-master." Although their by-laws 
forbade " irregularities and intemperance, or anything which may 
impair their faculties or debase the dignity of their profession," they 
did drink " West India rum," and "New England rum" on occa- 
sions. It was voted Dec. 7, 1824, "that Bro. Spencer Clark be re- 
quested to procure five or more gallons of West India rum, and five 



486 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

or more gallons of New England rum, for the use of the lodge; that 
the secretary be directed to call on all the brethren indebted to the 
lodge to make immediate payment." On Sept. 27, 1825, a vote 
was passed against the use of liquors in the lodge. In December of 
that year some of the more bibulous brethren secured the passage of 
a v^ote " that the vote passed September 27, prohibiting the use of 
ardent spirits in the lodge for a year, be rescinded ! " 

From Feb. 11, 1826, the records are lacking until 1852. It is 
known, however, that the lodge continued through the period of 
the anti-Masonic, or Morgan, crusade. In June, 1844, it surren- 
dered its charter. In 1852, under license issued July 13, by Grand 
Master Horace Chase, the members of the lodge met in the Sons of 
Temperance hall, over ]Iarvey Adams's shop. 

In 1852 its charter was reissued, and the lodge "once more met. 
Sept. 4, as before stated. Its officers were : Eliphalet Lyman, W. M. ; 
Ephraim Cross, S. W. ; Charles Baker, J. W. ; Jacob E. Stickney, 
secretary; Benjamin Hunking, treasurer ; George Ingerson, S. D. ; 
Allen Smith, J. D. ; John Savage, tyler. It is supposed that these 
were the officers in 1845, when the charter was surrendered. They 
were unanimously elected at the annual election of officers, May 
24, 1853, and with the exception of Charles W. Smith, entered ap- 
prentice, were all the members present at the meeting. During 
1853 the lodge moved to " Wentworth Hall," in the old American 
House, where it continued to meet for about a year, when it re- 
moved to rooms over R. P. Kent's store. It remained there one 
year, when it removed to a hall over David Burnside's store, stand- 
ing where Eagle block now does. The building was later known as 
Rowell's block. Here it remained for some time, and had a reason- 
able growth; for in June, 1855, a vote was passed to authorize the 
treasurer "to procure twenty-nine working aprons, with suitable 
insignia upon them for the officers ; also a square and compass of 
solid silver." The latter, it is said, are the ones still in use b}' the 
lodge. In 1856 the lodge removed to the hall in the attic of the 
town hall building, formerly the old meeting-house, where it still 
remains in a remodeled and elegant hall of its own. The hall at 
that time was known as Odd Fellows' hall. At a special commu- 
nication, held May 26, 1856, it was voted "that all business of the 
lodge, including the balloting for candidates, be transacted in a 
Master Masons lodge, with the exception of the work of conferring 
entered apprentice and F. C. degrees. The use of liquor in the 
lodge was prohibited. St. Evangelist's Day, Dec. 27, was celebrat- 
ed by the lodge by going to Whitefield, where dinner was had at the 
John's River house, with toasts and addresses. 

The noted Indian, Louis Annance, was the only one of his race 
who ever belonged to North Star lodge. He was cordially loved 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 487 

by all, and kindly remembered by the lodge in his old age by the 
gift of $25 on one occasion, when in indigent circumstances. 

The first public installation of ofificers took place in the town hall, 
May 5, 1868, and in December following the silver jewels now in 
use were purchased. In 1878, the lodge receiv^ed a bequest of $50 
from the estate of Rev. Daniel Austin, once a farmer in Jefferson, 
clergyman, and man of fortune and leisure, once a debtor within 
the jail limits of Lancaster. He was made a member in 1832. His 
memory is now substantially commemorated by the lodge altar, pur- 
chased with his bequest. 

In 1880, the lodge offered a reward of $50 for tidings of Silas 
Hurlburt, an old and feeble man, who wandered away from his home 
into the woods on Page hill and was lost, no tidings of whom have 
ever been received. He was made a member in 18 19, and in 1880, 
at his request, had been promised by the W. M. Masonic burial. 

In 1884, the lodge bought the town hall property. "The North 
Star Corporation " was formed under the laws of New Hampshire,- 
and acquired title. North Star Lodge, North Star Chapter, and 
North Star Commandery combined, and hold equal shares in the 
building, each appointing two of the six trustees for the govern- 
ment of the same. The custody of the building is entrusted to a 
janitor. W. L. Rowell has held that office since the arrangement 
was effected. Henry O. Kent, E. V. Cobleigh, John L. Moore, E. R. 
Kent, Moses A. Hastings, and W. L. Rowell are the trustees, La 
Fayette Moore and S. H. Legro, deceased, having served. 

At the annual town meeting in 1888, an arrangement was entered 
into between the town and the corporation, by which the town re- 
linquished to the corporation certain rights to the town hall on the 
second floor of the building, and paid $2,000 in consideration of 
the completion of certain repairs and the subsequent maintenance of 
the pubHc hall for town purposes. In May, 1888, work was begun 
on the town hall and the second story was opened to the public on 
Jan. 9, 1889. This spacious auditorium is frequently designated as 
" Music Hall." A dedicatory service w^as held, and on St. John 
Baptist's day, June 24, the Masons dedicated their spacious hall and 
apartments on the third floor. The frame of this building is the 
old meeting-house that stood on the plateau south of it, now known 
as Soldiers' Park, for fifty years. It ceased to be used for church 
purposes when the present Congregational meeting-house was built 
in 1840. The last use of the building on its old site was for an 
entertainment given by the students of Lancaster academy, Novem- 
ber, 1844. The house having been built by the town, was town 
property when it was no longer used for church purposes. In 1845, 
arrangements were made with Royal Joyslin, a merchant, to move 
the building to the site it now occupies. The building was set upon 



488 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

blocks six feet high, and the street graded up to the level of its sills. 
The ground floor was cleared of its pews, and used by Mr. Joyslin 
as a store. Part of the galleries were removed and a floor placed 
for a town hall, which is the present " Music Hall ! " The attic of 
the building was a little later fitted up for the Odd Fallows. 

The dedication of the remodeled Masonic temple, June 24, 1889, 
was an important event in the history of Lancaster as well as in the 
history of Masonry. Invitations had been sent out and responded 
to in large numbers by the following Masonic bodies: Evening Star 
Lodge, No. 37, of Colebrook; Gorham Lodge, No. "ji, of Gorham ; 
White Mountain Lodge, of VVhitefield ; Burns Lodge, No. 66, of 
Littleton ; St. Gerard Commandery, of Littleton ; Palestine Com- 
mandery, No. 5, of St. Johnsbury, Vt. The dedicatory services 
occurred at i 130 o'clock, and were participated in by five hundred 
Masons, who assembled in Masonic hall, while the Grand Lodge of 
New Hampshire gathered at Odd Fellows' hall, which had been ten- 
dered for the occasion. After the opening of North Star Lodge 
in due and ancient form, an escort brought the grand lodge to Ma- 
sonic temple, to dedicate the new hall to the uses of Masonry. 

Eagle hall was the place of banqueting, whither the throng of 
guests and their hosts repaired for a feast seldom equalled, and never 
surpassed, in magnificence, in Lancaster. 

In the evening the large Music hall was crowded by the frater- 
nity, their wives, and citizens of Lancaster, to listen to fine music and 
eloquent speeches. The principal address was delivered by Bro. 
Henry O. Kent, Past Master. It was a finished and scholarly ora- 
tion. This address was afterward published and widely circulated. 

North Star Lodge has sent forth of its members the nuclei of the 
following lodges, that owe their origin to the training which their 
charter members received in this mother lodge : Evening Star 
Lodge, No. ^y"] , of Colebrook; Kane Lodge, No. 64, of Lisbon; 
Burns Lodge, No. 66, of Littleton; Gorham Lodge, No. 73, of Gor- 
ham ; White Mountain Lodge, No. 86, of Whitefield ; Passump- 
sic Lodge, St. Johnsbury, Vt. ; Island Pond Lodge, Island Pond, Vt. 

Its present list of officers are as follows for 1896- 1897: Chester 
P. Brown, W. M. ; George B. Underwood, S. W. ; John C. East- 
man, J. W. ; Erastus V. Cobleigh, treasurer; Charles E. Mclntire, 
secretary; James R. Flanders, S. S. ; William L. Rowell, Jr., J. S. ; 
D. Eugene Rowell, S. D. ; Joseph Smith, J. D. ; Ivan W. Ouimby, 
marshal; Nelson Sparks, chaplain; Ephraim C. Roby, tyler; 
Henry O. Kent, Frank Spooner, finance committee. Number of 
members, 207. 

The centennial of this ancient lodge was celebrated with great 
ceremony by the lodge and its offspring above referred to, by a 
public Masonic banquet of 414 plates, in the town hall, Monday, 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 489 

December 27, St. John's (Evangelist's) day, 1897, an account of 
which is published in an elaborate illustrated pamphlet. 

NORTH STAR COMMANDERY, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. 

In 1857, a few Master Masons of North Star Lodge and com- 
panions of the Royal Arch, desiring the benefits of Christian Ma- 
sonry, obtained the honors of knighthood at Portland, Me., and 
Manchester. These, with Curtis Cleaveland, an old Sir Knight 
from Burlington, Vt., then residing at Northumberland, sent a peti- 
tion to Hon. William B. Hubbard, Grand Master Knights Templar 
in the United States, asking a dispensation to organize a Comman- 
dery at Lancaster. On May 8, 1857, a dispensation was issued, 
and on May 1 1 the Sir Knights met and organized North Star Com- 
mandery, with the following officers: Jared L Williams, eminent 
commander; La Fayette Moore, generalissimo; George C.Williams, 
captain-general. 

Immediately after the organization of the commandery the order 
of knighthood was conferred on James A. Smith and James D. Fol- 
som. 

As there was no chapter of Royal Arch Masons in this jurisdic- 
tion nearer than Concord, consent was obtained of Blazing Star 
Chapter for Haswell Chapter of St. Johnsbury, Vt., to confer the 
Royal Arch degrees upon candidates from northern New Hamp- 
shire. Later, many North Star Masons took the chapter degrees 
in Franklin Chapter, Lisbon. North Star Commandery continued 
to work under dispensation until Nov. 24, 1859, when it was 
organized under a charter from the Grand Encampment of the 
United States, as North Star Commandery, No. 3, of New Hamp- 
shire. It had then increased in membership from eight to fifteen 
members. The following officers were elected : J. I. Williams, emi- 
inent commander ; La Fayette Moore, generalissimo ; George C. Wil- 
liams, captain-general ; Henry O. Kent, prelate ; John W. Barney, 
senior warden; David A. Burnside, treasurer; Henry O. Kent, re- 
corder; James A. Smith, standard bearer; Curtis Cleaveland, sword 
bearer; Benjamin F. Hunking, warder; Alex. Thompson and Dan- 
forth Willey, captains of the guard. 

The same ofificers were reelected in i86o-'6i, '62, '6^,. 

In i860. North Star Commandery assisted in organizing the 
Grand Commandery of New Hampshire. The commandery has 
had from the first a steady growth, until to-day it numbers 214 
members, with the following list of ofificers : 

Sir William Hinkley Thompson, eminent commander ; Sir 
Thomas C. Beattie, generalissimo ; Sir Garvin R. Magoon, captain 
general; Sir Joseph Fames, prelate; Sir George B. Underwood, 



490 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

senior warden; Sir Joseph Smith, junior warden; Sir Erastus V. 
Cobleigh, treasurer; Sir Ralph L. Drisko, recorder pro tern; Sii" 
Levi H. Parker, standard bearer; Sir Stetson W. Gushing, sword 
bearer; Sir Parker J. Noyes, warder; Sir John C. Eastman, Persian 
guard ; Sir WilHam M. Heath, second guard ; Sir Charles L. Dol- 
loff, first guard ; Sir Ephraim C. Roby, sentinel ; Sir Ernest E. 
Smith, organist; Sir Henry O. Kent, Sir La Fayette Moore,* finance 
committee; past commanders, E. Sir Jared L Williams, R. E. Sir 
Henry O. Kent, E. Sir Benjamin F. Hunking,* E. Sir Edward R. 
Kent, V. E. Sir Thomas S. Ellis, V. E. Sir Moses A. Hastings, E. 
Sir Thomas S. Underwood, E. Sir Frank Spooner, E. Sir Ivan W. 
Ouimby. 

NORTH STAR CHAPTER ROYAL ARCH MASONS, NO. 1 6. 

This chapter was instituted in Lancaster in 1868. The dispensa- 
tion signed by Nathaniel W. Cumner, G. H. P., bears the date July 
8, 1868. Dr. George O. Rogers was the prime mover, and it was 
mainly through his efforts that the chapter was established. Its 
charter was signed by Daniel R. Marshall, G. H. P., June 8, 1869. 
The charter members were : Geo. O. Rogers, Samuel H. LeGro, 
Ezra B. Bennett, E. V. Cobleigh, J. S. Ockington, H. O. Kent, Ed- 
ward Savage, Philo S. Cherry, Richard Hovey, Edward R. Kent, 
Daniel C. Pinkham. 

The first convocation was held under dispensation of July 8, 1868, 
in the office of Dr. Rogers, at the corner of Main and Middle 
streets, now occupied by Dr. VV. H. Thompson, at which the follow- 
ing companions were present: George O. Rogers, H. P.; Samuel 
H. LeGro, K. ; Edward Savage, S. ; the grand council was named in 
the dispensation, and J. S. Ockington, E. R. Kent, H. O. Kent, W. 
H. N. Prince, D. Thompson, E. V. Cobleigh, P. S. Cherry, and E. 
B. Bennett were members. 

At the first annual convocation held in Masonic hall. May 19, 
1869, the following officers were elected: 

Edward Savage, E. H. P.; Samuel H. LeGro, E. K. ; W. H. N. 
Prince, E. S. ; Edward R. Kent, C. H. ; Chester B. Jordan, P. S. ; 
Daniel Thompson, R. A. C. ; Philo S. Cherry, M. 3d V.; William 
L. Rowell, M. 2nd V.; Abner Thompson, M. ist V.; Jphn S. 
Ockington, treasurer; Alex. Thompson, secretary; Richard Hovey, 
t}-ler. 

These officers were installed at a special convocation Sept. 22, 
1869, at which time the chapter was dedicated. This chapter has 
been self-sustaining, and on a sound financial basis, from the first 
year of its existence. It owns a one-third interest in Masonic tem- 

*Deceased. 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 49 1 

pie. It now has a membership of 235, with the following list of 
ofificers for 1896, '97: 

George B. Underwood, E. H. P.; Parker J. Noyes, K. ; Fielding 
Smith, S. ; Erastus V. Cobleigh, treasurer; Charles E. Mclntire, 
secretary; Fred H. Nourse, C. H. ; Joseph Smith, P. S. ; Charles R. 
Bailey, R. A. C. ; Joseph Fames, chaplain ; Edward A. Wood- 
ward, M. 3rd v.; D. Eugene Rowell, M. 2nd V.; James R. Flan- 
ders, M 1st v.; Charles L. Dolloff, S. S. ; Ralph Drisko, J. S. ; 
Ephraim C. Roby, sentinel ; Edward R. Kent, Ivan W. Quimby, 
finance committee. 

The companions who have served as high priest are as follows : 
Edward Savage, 1870-1874; Charles A. Cleaveland, 1875-1879, 
and 1883; Nelson Sparks, 1880-1882; John H. Smith, 1884-1887; 
Ivan W. Quimby, 1887. 

NORTH STAR LODGE OF PERFECTION A. A. SCOTTISH RITE MASONS. 

A dispensation to form a lodge of A. A. S. R. M. in Lancaster 
was transmitted to 111. Bro. Henry O. Kent, 33°, by 111. Bro. George 
W. Currier, 33°, deputy for New Hampshire. By the authority thus 
conferred upon him, Bro. Kent summoned the illustrious brothers of 
the 32°, of the A. A. Scottish Rite Masons, to convene at the 
Masonic temple, Nov. 27, 1894, where he presided, and 111. Bro. S. 
W. Gushing, 32°, was appointed secretary, with 111. Bro. Moses A. 
Hastings, 32°, as marshal. 

The following officers were named in the dispensation : 

III Bro. Edward R. Kent, 32°, thrice potent grand master; 111. 
Bro. Frank Spooner, 32°, Hiram of Tyre, deputy grand master; 
111. Bro. Garvin R. Magoon, 32°, venerable senior grand warden ; 111. 
Bro. Herman E. Oleson, 32°, venerable junior grand warden. 

The dispensation was read, and it was decided to proceed to com- 
plete the full list of officers, which was done by ballot, showing the 
following persons elected : 

111. Bro. Fred W. Page, 32°, grand orator; 111. Bro. Erastus V. 
Cobleigh, 32°, grand treasurer; 111. Bro. Stetson Ward Gushing, 
32°, grand secretary; 111. Bro. John M. Wilson, 32°, grand master 
of ceremonies ; 111. Bro. John C. Pattee, 32°, grand captain of the 
guard; 111. Bro. Willie E. Bullard, 32°, grand hospitaller; 111. Bro. 
Levi H. Parker, 32°, grand tyler. 

These officers of North Star Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R , 
were then proclaimed, and proclamation was made by the authority 
of the warrant of dispensation that the lodge was created, instituted, 
and ready for the* transaction of business. 

The following named persons were charter members : 

E. R. Kent, F. Spooner, G. R. Magoon, H. E. Oleson, H. O. 



492 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Kent, W. A. Loyne, A. S. Twitchell, G. Davis, H. A. Graves, W. W. 
Pike, H. W. Hinds, C. H.Thayer, F. W. Page, M. B. Lougee, E. W. 
Evans, F. W. Noyes, W. C. Perkins, G. E. Hutchins, C. H. Evans, 

E. V. Cobleigh, S. W. Gushing, J. C. Pattee, J. M. Wilson, G. A. 
Norton, C. C. O'Brion, E. Blood, J. Smith, R. C. Chesman, H. A. 
Moore, P. S. Terrell, H. B. Gilkey, W. E. Bullard, J. D. Howe, 
C. O. Whipp, H. B. Hinman, J. R. Perkins, L. B. Whipp, J. S. 
Phipps, J. B. Noyes, C. A. Cleaveland, M. A. Hastings, V. V. Whit- 
ney, C. O. Stevens, G. A. Lane, F. P. Washburn, W. H. Little, C. W. 
Brown, M. Perkins, J. C. Hutchins, J. W. Crawshaw, L. H. Parker, 

F. H. Nourse, — 52. 

The present number of members is 62. The following are the 
ofificers for 1896 : 

111. Bro. Frank Spooner, 32^, T. P. G. M. ; 111. Bro. Garvin R. 
Magoon, 33°, H. of T. D. G. M. ; 111. Bro. John C. Pattee, 32°, 
V. S. G. W.; 111. Bro. Herbert A. Moore, 32°, V. J. G. W. ; 111.. 
Bro. Fred W. Page, 32°, G. O. ; Ih. Bro. Erastus V. Cobleigh, 32°, 

G. Treas. ; 111. Bro. Stetson W. Gushing, 32°, G. Sec'y ; 111. Bro. Phil- 
lip S. Tirrell, 32°, G. M. of C.; 111. Bro. Manasah Perkins, 32°, G. 
C. of G. ; 111. Bro. Wheelock H. Little, 32°, G. H. ; 111. Bro. Levi H. 
Parker, 32°, G. T. ; 111. Bro. Joseph D. Howe, 32°, 111. Bro. Joseph 
Smith, 32°, finance committee, — 62. 

Persons from Lancaster who have held ofifices in the grand bodies 
of Masonry, state and national : 

Grand Lodge of New Hampshire. — Stephen Wilson, district 
deputy grand master, 1823-26 and 1843, '44. 

John Wilson, grand sword bearer, 1824-26, and district deputy 
grand master, 1842. 

William Lovejoy, district deputy grand master, 1827 and 1830. 

Jared W. Williams, district deputy grand master, 1831-39. 

Eliphalet Lyman, district deputy grand master, 1840, '41. 

Jared I. Williams, grand lecturer, i854-'57; district deputy 
grand master, 1858, '59; junior grand deacon, i860; senior grand 
deacon, 1861. 

Henry O. Kent, grand lecturer, i860, '61 ; district deputy grand 
master, 1862, '6'^, '66, '69. 

Grand Co?nniandery of New Hampshire. — Henry O. Kent, 
grand sword bearer, i86o-'62; grand junior warden, 1863; grand 
senior warden, 1864; grand captain general, 1865-66; generalis- 
simo, 1867; grand commander of Knights Templar, 1868—69; 
representative of the Grand Commandery of Vermont since 1870; 
deputy of the grand master to constitute North Star Commandery, 
1859. 

Edward Savage, grand captain of the guard, 1867, '68. 

Thomas S. Ellis, grand sword bearer, 1875, '']6\ grand junior 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 493 

warden, 1877; grand senior warden, 1878; grand captain general, 
1879. (Grand lecturer, 1877, 'jS; district deputy grand master, 
1879, '80, grand lodge.) 

Edward R. Kent, grand captain of the guard, 1877; grand war- 
der, 1878 ; grand sword bearer, 1879; grand standard bearer, 1880; 
grand junior warden, 1881 ; grand senior warden, 1882-84; grand 
captain general, 1885; grand generalissimo, 1886; deputy 
grand commander, 1887; grand commander of the Grand Com- 
mandery of Knights Templar, 1888; representative of the Grand 
Commandery of Indiana since 1886. 

George C. Williams, grand marshal, i860, '61 ; junior grand 
deacon, 1862; grand sword bearer, 1864, '65. 

Grand Lodge. — Benjamin F. Hunking, grand lecturer, 1864- 
1867; Edward Savage, grand lecturer, 1870-1873; D. D. G. M., 
1875-1876; Charles E. Mclntire, grand lecturer, 1885. 

Grand Commandery. — Moses A. Hastings, grand captain of the 
guard, 1888; grand sword bearer, 1889; grand standard bearer, 
1890; grand senior warden, 1 89 1 ; grand captain general, 1892; 
grand generalissimo, 1893; deputy grand commander in Grand 
Commandery Knights Templar, 1894; grand lecturer of the fifth 
Masonic district in the grand lodge, 1 886-1 887. 

Grand Chapter. — Edward Savage, grand steward, 1870; grand 
master of first veil, 1871 ; grand master of second veil, 1872; 
Thomas S. Ellis, grand steward, 1879; Thomas C. Beattie, grand 
steward, 1894- 1895 ! I^'^n W. Ouimby, grand steward, 1889. 

Grand Co7nmandery . — Jared I. Williams, grand captain general, 
1 860- 1 86 1 ; George C. Williams, grand junior warden, 1862. 

OLIVE BRANCH CHAPTER OF THE ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR. 

This chapter of adoptive Masonry was instituted in Lancaster, at 
Masonic hall, March 16, 1870. The ceremonies of instituting the 
chapter and installing its officers was conducted by Grand Com- 
mander Forbes. A meeting for that purpose was called at 2 o'clock 
in the afternoon of the above date, and after an address by Com- 
mander Forbes, the degrees of the Order of the Eastern Star were 
conferred upon the following named persons: Ann I. Savage, Ruth 
A. Hovey, Helen Cherry, Martha A. Rowell, Richard Hovey, 
Abner Thompson, Philo S. Cherry, Ellen E. Cobleigh, Sarah B. 
Cleaveland, Martha J. Thompson, Edward Savage, Erastus V. Cob- 
leigh, Charles A. Cleaveland, and William L. Rowell. 

An election of officers resulted in the choice of the following per- 
sons : Edward Savage, W. P.; Ann I. Savage, W. M. ; Ellen E. 
Cobleigh, A. M. ; Martha J. Thompson, treasurer; Helen Cherry, 
secretary; Sarah B. Cleaveland, C; Ruth A. Hovey, A. C. 

At an adjourned meeting in the evening of the same day Com- 



494 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

niander Forbes installed these officers, and conferred the degrees 
upon Mrs. Eudora Smith and Miss Emma Marshall. 

A code of by-laws, prepared by a committee consisting of Sarah 
B. Cleaveland, Ann I. Savage, Martha A. Rowell, Edward Savage, 
and Abner Thompson, were adopted, and with but slight changes 
are the same that are in force to-day. 

The first public installation of officers of the chapter took place 
Jan. 26, 1877. The ceremony was conducted by Frank Peabody, 
W. P., assisted by Rev. George H. Pinkham of Whitefield, after 
which the assembled company partook of an elaborate banquet, the 
first ever given by the chapter. In January, 1885, the chapter gave 
a public entertainment from the proceeds of which they purchased 
an organ, and placed it in Masonic hall. The chapter has been a 
popular and a useful institution in the community. It has enjoyed 
a healthy growth, and now numbers over one hundred members. 

The chapter was organized on what is known as a " McCoy Char- 
ter," which left every lodge independent of all other lodges. This 
charter was given up under the advice of Rev. C. J. Henley, in 
1888, for a charter issued by the grand chapter of the United States. 
This charter was granted to the entire membership of the first lodge, 
as No. I of the General Grand Chapter of the United States, May 
12, 1888, with the following charter members: Lucy Spooner, Jo- 
sephine Bailey, Helen A. Stuart, Persis F. Chase, Luella Peabody, 
Carrie M. Smith, Abbie L. Roby, H. Alice Peabody, Kate Hatch, 
Annie O. Kent, Addie Wilson, Grace Whitcomb. 

On May 12, 1891, the Grand Chapter of New Hampshire was or- 
ganized in Lancaster. There were then only seven chapters in New 
Hampshire, six of which represented in the convention for the 
organization of a grand chapter for the state. Most appropriately 
Olive Branch Chapter, No. i, was privileged to act as hostess on 
that occasion. The Lancaster chapter was honored by the selection 
of the following of its members as officers in the grand chapter: 
Dr. Frank Spooner, grand patron ; Luella E. Peabody, grand asso- 
ciate conductor; Helen A. Stewart, grand marshal; Lucy Spooner, 
grand Martha. 

The officers for 1896 are: 

Emma F. Roberts, W. M. ; Washington D. Marshall, W. P.; 
Addie E. Wilson, A. M. ; Kate M. Marshall, secretary ; Sarah E. 
Griswold, treasurer; Clara A. Roby, C. ; Gertrude Noyes, A. C. ; 
Alice Woodward, W. ; Mabel C. Thompson, Adah ; Blanche A. 
Moore, Ruth; Mary Porter, Esther; Gertrude P. Crawford, Martha; 
Nena H. Edmunds, Electa; Hattie B. Smith, chaplain; Mary N. 
Brackett, marshal; Nellie B. Kent, organist; E. C. Roby, sentinel. 

The past worthy patrons have been : Edward Savage, H. H. Por- 
ter, Frank Peabody, Dan Lee Jones, Edward R. Kent, Eugene 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 495 

Leavitt, C. J. Henley, Frank Spooner, C. W. Brown, Chester P. 
Brown, W. H. Thompson, Herbert A. Moore, W. D. Marshall. 

The worthy matrons have been : Ann I. Savage, Ellen E. Cob- 
leigh, Eliza M. Spaulding, Emma F. M. Jones, Martha A. Corning, 
Grace Whitcomb, Hattie Smith, Lucy Spooner, Helen A. Stewart, 
Luella E. Peabody, Emma F. Roberts. 

Back in the fifties there was an organization of Adoptive Masonry, 
embracing wives and daughters of Master Masons. John VV. Bar- 
ney, the presiding officer, was the "Helion" of the ritual. Henry O. 
Kent, Jared I. Williams, James D. Folsom, La Fayette Moore, B. F. 
Hunking, John S. Ockington, and the active Masons of those days, 
with their wives, were members. This society was the precursor of 
the existing chapter chronicled above. 

THE ODD FELLOWS. 

In 1849 a lodge of Odd Fellows was organized here under the 
name of the White Mountain lodge, chiefly by a number of civil 
engineers then at work on the line of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence 
Railroad (now the Grand Trunk), which it was hoped would be 
built through Lancaster. This lodge flourished for a time, but 
became extinct soon after its original promoters left town. 

On Sept. 27, 1850, Coos lodge, No. 35, L O. O. F., of Lancaster 
was instituted,. in response to a desire on the part of a number of 
old residents, among whom were the members of the former White 
Mountain lodge. It flourished for a few years, but became defunct 
in 1856. Until 1874 there was no attempt to resuscitate it. In 
that year a few of the surviving members revived the lodge, since 
which time it has had an eventful career, out of which it is emerging 
into what promises to be a prosperous future. When the lodge was 
reinstated in 1874, it began holding its meetings in a hall standing 
where Eagle block now stands. Here it met until the great fire of 
1878 destroyed its hall. The lodge lost all its properties. With 
courage, however, the lodge resumed its meetings in a shed room 
of the old Lancaster House. Its tarrying was short here, lasting 
only from September 9 to September 28, when the Lancaster House 
was burned. Another removal brought the lodge to the old engine 
house, on the north bank of Isreals river near Frank Smith & Co.'s 
mill, on Middle street. It continued its meetings here until some 
time in November, 1878, when it removed to the hall on the third 
floor of the Benton block, on Main street. Here the lodge has found 
a home ever since, and during this period of its history it has grown 
steadily, so that to-day it is in a flourishing condition. 

It is now engaged in erecting a large building on the site of the 
Allen Smith house, on Main street, near the corner of Main and 
Bunker Hill streets. The building is a brick veneer, and of fine 



496 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

appearance. It was begun in May, 1896, and completed for occu- 
pancy Sept. I, 1896. The building operations were conducted by 
a stock company, incorporated under the general laws of the state. 
The lodge is at present the largest stockholder, and it is privileged 
to purchase up the stock as fast as it can do so, in order to become 
the owner of the property, which, with its real estate, is valued at 
$20,000. 

The building contains a commodious hall on the third floor for 
lodge purposes, a dining-room and kitchen, ladies' parlor, gentle- 
men's parlor, paraphernalia room, regalia room, ladies' toilet room, 
gentlemen's toilet room. 

The second floor is occupied by the printing establishment of 
J. D. Bridge, editor and publisher of the Coos County Democrat, 
and other offices. The first floor comprises a single store-room, 
occupied by the Lane Clothing Co. 

The building is heated throughout by steam and lighted by elec- 
tric lights, and is one of the finest in Lancaster. 

The following ofUcers were elected and installed for the term 
beginning July i, 1896; 

Fred H. Clough, N. G. ; C. E. Willoughby, V. G. ; George N. 
Kent, secretary; George V. Moulton, treasurer; E. A. Woodward, 
conductor; J. B. Cloudman, warden; George M. Congdon, O. G. ; 
Thomas Ryan, L G. ; C. W. Sleeper, R. S. N. G. ; H. W. Smith, 
L. S. N. G. ; Elmer Whitcomb, R. S. V. G. ; F. W. Grant, L. S. V. 
G. ; R. M. Langworthy, R. S. S. ; Benjamin Benton, L. S. S. ; W. 
H. Thompson, chaplain; J. R. Flanders, P. G. ; J. D. Bridge, J. R. 
Flanders, representatives to grand lodge; F. H. Clough, C. E. Wil- 
loughby, George V. Moulton, J. B. Cloudman, D. R. Remick, N. 
Tuttle, George A. Woods, visiting committee; P. J. Noyes, W. H. 
Thompson, Isaac Bartlett, finance committee ; W. E. Lyon, janitor. 

PERSEVERANCE REBEKAH LODGE, NO. 56. 

This lodge was instituted as an adjunct to Coos lodge, I. O. O. F., 
on Dec. 15, 1893, with the following ten charter members: 

Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Bridge, Mr. and Mrs F. H. Clough, Mr. and 
Mrs. Isaac Bartlett, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Nourse, Mr. and Mrs. W S. 
Matthews. There were forty-four candidates initiated at the first 
meeting, on the night of the institution of the lodge. 

OBJECTS AND PURPOSES. 

The objects and purposes of Rebekah lodges are declared to be : 

1 . To aid in the establishment and maintenance of homes for aged and indigent 
Odd Fellows and their wives, or for the widows of deceased Odd Fellows ; and 
homes for the care, education, and support of orphans of deceased Odd Fellows. 

2. To visit the sick, relieve the distressed, and in every way to assist subordi- 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 497 

nate and sister Rebekah lodges in kindly ministrations to the families of Odd Fel- 
lows who are in trouble or want. 

3. To cultivate and extend the social and fraternal relations of life among lodges 
and the families of Odd Fellows. 

This lodge has been remarkably prosperous from the first, and 
now numbers 140 members and ranks high in the state. It has 
conducted its work in a quiet way, and has not become as well 
known as many institutions that have done less good in the com- 
munity than it has. Members of the lodge always attend the sick 
of their numbers, and in many ways care for their members in sick- 
ness and death. 

The lodge meets the first and third Friday evenings of each 
month, in Odd Fellows' hall. 

The present officers are : 

Mrs. J. D. Bridge, N. G. ; Mrs. C. F. Moses, V. G. ; Mrs. F. H. 
Clough, secretary; Mrs. B. M. Matthews, treasurer; Miss Gertrude 
Noyes, conductor; Mrs. F. E. Richey, chaplain; Mrs. J. B. Cloud- 
man, I. G. ; Miss Kate Spaulding, O. G. ; Mrs. Isaac Glynn, R. S. 
N. G. ; Mrs. George V. Moulton, R. S. V. G. ; Mrs. Isaac Bartlett, 
L. S. V. G. ; Miss Lillian Rosebrook, R. A. S. ; Mrs. A. E. Avery, 
L. A. S. ; Mrs. P. J. Noyes, Mrs. Ada Amadon, Miss Alice Folsom, 
finance committee; Mrs. J. D. Bridge, Mrs. C. E. Matthews, Mrs. 
F. H. Clough, Mrs. B. M. Matthews, Mrs. George Woods, Mrs. A. D. 
Howe, Miss Susie Mclntire, visiting committee. 

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 

A lodge of the order of Knights of Pythias was instituted in Lan- 
caster on Sept. 28, 1888. It is known as Pilot lodge, No. 32, Knights 
of Pythias. The charter members were : 

Fred L. Linscott, Amos F. Rowell, F. H. Carlton, E. C. Amey, 
Everett Fletcher, Charles F. Colby, J. R. Hannaford, Manassah Per- 
kins, Rollin J. Brown, Joseph Streeter, George H. Beckwith, Harry 
H. Jones, Frank E. Richey, Holman H. Noyes, Fielding Smith, 
Joseph B. Cloudman, George E. Stevens, G. B. Underwood. 

The lodge has grown rapidly, and at present numbers 103 mem- 
bers in good standing. It meets on Monday evenings, in its new 
and desirable apartments in Moore's block, on Middle street, in 
some respects the best appointed rooms for fraternal and social pur- 
poses in town. 

The officers for 1 896 were as follows : 

H. B. Amey, C. C. ; H. DeF. Hilliard, V. C. ; W. E. Hartford, 
M. A. ; Arthur Simonds, Pre. ; H. H. Noyes, K. of R. S. ; Robert 
Hadley, I. G. ; Fred Thomas, O. G. ; F. L. Linscott, H. H. Jones, 
R. J. Brown, trustees. 
32 



498 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

THE CATHOLIC ORDER OF FORESTERS. 

All Saints Court, No. 366, of the Catholic Order of Foresters, 
was organized in Lancaster, on June 20, 1893, in the old hall over 
Matthew Monahan's blacksmith shop, with fifteen charter members : 
Edmund Sullivan, James Horan, James A. Monahan, Michael J. Foley, 
James M. Monahan, Martin J. Monahan, Timothy McCaffrey, Mar- 
quis Largy, Edward Gillespie, Michael Purtle, Timothy Long, 
Thomas Heney, Owen McCaffrey, Edward M. Monahan, and 
Thomas McGinley. 

The court was organized by Fred N. Blanchard of Island Pond, 
Vt., with the following ofifiicers : Edmund Sullivan, chief ranger; 
James A. Monahan, recording secretary; Michael J. Foley, finan- 
cial secretary; James M. Monahan, treasurer; Martin J. Monahan, 
Timothy McCaffrey, Marquis Largy, trustees ; Edward Gillespie, 
senior conductor; Michael Purtle, junior conductor; Thomas He- 
ney, inside sentinel ; Timothy Long, outside sentinel ; Dr. E. F. 
Stockwell, medical examiner. 

The first regular meeting was held July 14, 1893. Its regular 
meetings are held the second and fourth Friday evenings of every 
month. The next regular meeting was held in Odd Fellows' hall, 
in the Benton block. Since then the court secured the hall over the 
Lancaster National bank, and continues to meet there to the present 
time. 

During the short time it has existed, the court has increased from 
its fifteen charter members to seventy-five at present. Its financial 
condition has always been sound, and in every respect it is one of 
the prosperous institutions of the town. Its permanence and use- 
fulness are proven, and give it rank among our fraternal bodies. 

The officers for the ensuing year are: C. R., O. F. McCaffrey; 
V. C. R., P. Fraught; P. C. R., J. Horan; R. S., T. A. Hopkins; 
F. S., T. McCaffrey; treasurer, P. Noonan ; J. Smith, M. Brown, 
J. A. Monahan, trustees; S. C, O. J. Gormley ; J. C, P. Rines ; 
I. S., M. J. Millette; O. S., R. Powers; chaplain. Rev. Fr. M. J. B. 
Creamer; medical examiner, E. F. Stockwell; delegate to state 
convention, J. Smith; alternate, James Truland. 

KNIGHTS OF THE MACCABEES OF THE WORLD. 

During the summer of 1896 Mr. F. E. Hand, state commander of 
the Knights of the Maccabees for Maine and New Hampshire, 
organized a tent of that order in Lancaster. 

The Knights of the Maccabees is a fraternal beneficiary society, 
incorporated under the laws of the state of Michigan, June 11, 1881, 
with the supreme tent at Port Huron, Mich. Membership Aug. 
I, 1896, 245,957. 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 499 

Starr King Tent, No. 3, was instituted in Lancaster, July 22, 1896, 
with twenty-five charter members, with the following officers : Sir 
Kt. Past Com., Arthur G. Wilson; Sir Kt. Com., Wm. H. Thomp- 
son; Sir Kt. Lt. Com., C. P. Brown; Sir Kt. R. K., A. H. Sweet- 
ser; Sir Kt. F. K., Jas. Flanders; Sir Kt. Chap., Fred R. Clough ; 
Sir Kt. Phys., Harry B. Carpenter; Sir Kt. Sergt., C. Welcome 
Brown ; Sir Kt. M. at A., Harry Bailey; Sir Kt. ist M. of G., Lewis 
Hosmer; Sir Kt. 2d M. of G., Wm. E. Lyon; Sir Kt. Sen., J. H. 
McClintock; Sir Kt. Pic, Wm. R. McClintock. 

Tent meets the fourth Wednesday of the month in the L O. O. F. 
old hall. 

THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. 
Col. E. E. Cross Post, No. 16. 

Col. Edward E. Cross Post, No. 16, Grand Army of the Republic, 
was originally organized Jan. 16, 1869, by Daniel J.Vaughn, depart- 
ment commander, and Samuel F. Murray, assistant adjutant-general. 

The charter members were Henry O. Kent, Charles P. Denison, 
Horace G. Fabyan, William L. Rowell, Stephen Emery, Thomas S. 
Ellis, Phineas R. Plodgdon, Hezekiah E. Hadlock, George H. Em- 
erson, and Charles C. Beaton. 

The meetings were holden in the small hall in Kents building. 
The books of record are lost and we can only say that after a few 
years' active existence for some reason the charter was surrendered. 
The old charter now hangs in G. A. R. hall. 

On Nov. I, 1878, Col. E. E. Cross Post of the G. A. R. was re- 
organized under a new charter, but of the same name and number 
as that of the old. The following persons were charter members: 

William G. Ellis, Solon L. Simonds, H. DeF. Young, E. W. 
Wyman, B. L. Olcott, P. J. Noyes, H. S. Hilhard, Thomas S. Ellis, 
H. O. Kent, L. H. Parker, Ira E. Woodward, Thomas Sweetser, A. 
A. Dow, Charles E. Mclntire, Richard Fletcher, Jared L Williams, 
H. Richardson, G. E. Chandler, E. A. Rhodes, Zeb Twitchell, Geo. 
H. Emerson, F. H. Perkins, J. M. Morse, J. G. Sutton, R. M. J. 
Grant, and Geo. W. Morgan. 

The first officers elected and installed under the new charter were : 

Thos. S. Ellis, commander; P. J. Noyes, S. V. commander; E. 
A. Rhodes, adjutant; Ira E. Woodward, quartermaster; R. M. J. 
Grant, chaplain; W. G. Ellis, officer of the day; F. H. Perkins, 
officer of the guard; S. L. Simonds, sergeant-major; Geo. E. Chan- 
dler, quartermaster sergeant. 

The new post enjoyed a rapid and healthy growth, and has done 
much good in its work of charity among war veterans and their 
families, and in every way worthily exemplifying its motto of " Era- 



500 " HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ternity, Charity, and Loyalty." The post has secured, and by the 
generous aid of the town, maintained the proper observance of 
Memorial day, strewing the graves of the fallen soldiers with flow- 
ers, and sowing seeds of patriotism in the minds and hearts of 
younger generations. This post has brought to Lancaster many 
able and patriotic speakers on the returning anniversary when this 
most tender and kindly recognition of services of the soldier to his 
country is made. Through its efforts the flag now floats over all 
the schoolhouses in town during the sessions of school. Already 
this important work has taken a new hold upon the generation 
soon to be entrusted with the affairs of the town, state, and nation. 
The children of the public schools, last spring, on finding their flag 
badly decayed, did not wait the move of others, but by the cooper- 
ation of their teachers issued stock in shares of ten cents each and 
purchased their own new flag with the proceeds. The children have 
thus been taught to love their country's flag. On the last Memorial 
day they marched to the cemetery and participated in the decora- 
tion of the soldier's graves. 

Col. E. E. Cross Post of G. A. R. has been actuated wholly by 
unselfish and patriotic motives. Its influence has been of the very 
best, and the community regards it as one of the most important in- 
stitutions it is blessed with. 

This post now has about 150 members, and is entitled to four 
delegates to the state encampment. Its rank is a high one in this 
department of the G. A. R. The whole number mustered into its 
ranks are about 200 of which it has lost by death and demits from 
its rolls about fifty, leaving at present a membership of 150. 
The ofUcers of the post at present are : 

P. J. Noyes, commander; Nathaniel M. Davenport, S. V. com- 
mander; Charles Forbes, J. V. commander; H. DeForest Young, 
adjutant; Daniel T. Timberlake, quartermaster; George H. Emer- 
son, chaplain ; Charles Couture, officer of the day ; John G. Derby, 
officer of the guard; Levi H. Parker, sergeant major; Joseph B. 
Cloudman, quartermaster sergeant ; Ezra Mitchell, surgeon. 

The commanders have been, under the first charter, Charles P. 
Denison, Plezekiah E. Hadlock. 

Under the new charter, Thomas S. Ellis, Henry O. Kent, Levi 
H. Parker, Jared I. Williams, Parker J. Noyes, Thomas Sweetser, 
Samuel L. Wellington, Henry S. Hilliard, Wm. W. Hendricks, 
Charles E. Mclntire, D. T. Timberlake, Geo. H. Emerson, Reuben 
F. Carter, James S. Brackett, Nathaniel M. Davenport. 

Some commanders above named have been reelected out of 
chronological order. 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 5OI 

THE woman's RELIEF CORPS. 

Among the secret and fraternal organizations in Lancaster none 
has a stronger hold on the people than Edward E. Cross Woman's 
Relief Corps, No. 39. 

We give its history in the words of Mrs. Clara I. Noyes, one of 
its charter members, and an of^cer, or member of some of its com- 
mittees, during the ten years of its existence. 

A preliminary meeting was called at the Lancaster House at 2 
o'clock in the afternoon of Sept. 21, 1886, for the purpose of elect- 
ing officers for the Woman's Relief Corps. The meeting was called 
to order by Mrs. Addie S. Hughes of Ashland. Mrs. Bernice A. 
Kent was elected president for the afternoon, Persis F. Chase, secre- 
tary. Clara L Noyes and Sarah W, Brown were appointed as tell- 
ers to count the votes. Ofiticers elected were : 

Mrs. Persis F. Chase, president; Mrs. Clara L Noyes, senior vice 
president; Mrs. Sarah W. Brown, junior vice president; May M. 
Wyman, secretary; Mrs. Emma H. Sweetser, treasurer; Mrs. Ber- 
nice A. Kent, chaplain; Carrie M. Smith, conductor; Mrs. Ella 
Carter, guard; Mrs. Josephine A. Bailey, assistant conductor; Mrs. 
Emeline J. Cram, assistant guard. 

This meeting was adjourned to meet at Odd Fellows' hall at 7 
o'clock in the evening, where a public installation was held, Mrs. 
Addie S. Hughes, department inspector, acting as instituting and 
installing officer. There were twenty-one charter members who 
signed their names to these rules and regulations : 

We, the subscribers, members of Edward E. Cross Relief Corps, No. 39, of 
Lancaster, Coos county, Department of New Hampshire, Woman's Relief Corps, 
Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, do hereby subscribe to the rules 
and regulations for the government of the Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the 
Grand Army of the Republic, as revised by the National Convention, Denver, 
Col., July 25th and 26th, 1883, and to any revisions or alterations that may here- 
after be legally adopted in accordance with the provisions of the present rules and 
regulations ; also to such rules and regulations or by-laws, as have been or may 
hereafter be legally adopted by Edward E. Cross Corps, No. 39, of Lancaster, 
Department of New Hampshire Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand 
Army of the Republic, for their government. 

For each year these are the following committees appointed : 
" Executive Committee " who are to plan and carry out everything 
in the way of entertainments for the purpose of raising money to 
carry on the good work and arrange everything for Memorial Day. 
" Finance or Auditing Committee " to approve all bills presented 
and audit the books of the secretary and treasurer. " Relief Com- 
mittee," to look after th'e sick and needy, the chairman to report at 
every regular meeting any one who may be sick or in trouble. 
There are other minor committees appointed for any wants that may 



502 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

come before the corps. We have initiated 103 members, but at 
the present time we have only sixty members in good standing. Six 
have died and many have gone to Hve in other towns or states, and 
for various reasons have been granted an honorable discharge. 

In the nearly ten years the corps has been organized we have 
helped many families^ and every member who has been sick or had 
sickness in her family has received many courtesies and delica- 
cies. The corps has a general fund and a relief fund. The relief 
fund is to be used only for soldiers or their families, the general 
fund for whatever purposes may be deemed necessary. We have 
expended for relief from the relief and general funds $260.67, ^"^ 
probably $100.00 would not more than cover the amount we have 
given in clothing and food. Corps 39 has been very generous in 
helping to furnish the Soldiers' Home at Tilton, and also the new 
hospital, a part of the same, which was built in 1895. ^^^ 1895 a 
committee of three or more were appointed from each corps in the 
state to introduce the flag salute in our schools. Through the influ- 
ence of the committee of Corps 39, nine schools in Lancaster are 
using the salute. The corps has furnished two flags. This commit- 
tee also succeeded in introducing the salute in two schools in Nor- 
thumberland. ' 

Our motto is " Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty," the broad foun- 
dation on which to-day stands the Grand Army of the Republic. 

The ofificers of the present year are : 

Mrs. Addie E.Wilson, president; Mrs. Abbie S. Call, senior vice- 
president ; Mrs. Ella F. Hall, junior vice-president; Nettie McKel- 
lips, secretary; Mrs. Susan Folsom, treasurer; Mrs. Elizabeth S. 
Pierce, chaplain; Etta L Baker, conductor; Jennie Phillips, guard; 
Mrs. Mary Hartley, assistant conductor; Addie P. Forbes, assistant 
guard. 

The corps holds its meetings the second and fourth Saturday even- 
ings of each month. 

THE \Y0MAN'S christian TEMPERANCE UNION. 

There was a meeting of a number of women held at the residence 
of George E. Carbee, on Sept. i, 1888, for the purpose of organizing 
a Woman's Christian Temperance Union. After some discussion of 
the subject, it was voted to organize such a society, which was done, 
with the following list of ofificers : 

Mrs. W. S. Ladd, president; Mrs. W. A. Folsom, corresponding 
secretary; Mrs. M. J. Hartford, recording secretary; Mrs. S. A. 
Brown, treasurer; Mrs. W. D. Marshall, Mrs. F. D. Hutchins, Mrs. 
Persis F. Chase, Mrs. Mary H. Williams, vice-presidents; Mrs. Frank 
Spooner, Mrs. C. E. Allen, and the vice-presidents, visiting com- 
mittee. 



FRATERNAL SOCIETIES OF LANCASTER. 503 

This organization has done much for temperance. It has not 
only agitated the temperance question with respect to reforms, but 
has helped to correct intemperance in many ways. It has sent 
several intemperate men to the Keeley Institute for treatment. It 
has taken care of the families of others while at the various Gold 
Cure establishments, and in various ways has administered much 
charity to the unfortunate. It has organized and carried to success 
the reading-room movement, which is now one of the permanent 
institutions of the town supported by public funds. It has dis- 
tributed literature to the prisoners in the county jail and to inmates 
of the county almshouse, and to the lumbermen in the camps dur- 
ing the long, dreary winters. For a number of years these earnest 
women have been serving warm dinners at town-meeting and the 
fall elections, in the town hall. 

OTHER TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 

Lancaster has at no time been exceptional to other New England 
towns. The drinking habits of the early colonists, characteristic of the 
Anglo-Saxon race, were planted here in the life of the earliest set- 
tlers. Rum was regarded as indispensable to health, comfort, and 
sociability. Everybody drank in the early days, until habits of in- 
temperance were formed in the lives of the second or third genera- 
tions, who, having more ease and means, sought excitement in the 
convivial customs of their day. Within a generation from the found- 
ing of the town it had its confirmed inebriates, and at no time since 
then has the community been free from that class of unfortunates. 

As early as 1825 the Masons passed a vote prohibiting the use of 
liquors in the lodge, which was an arraignment of the intemperate 
habits of the community. It was not until ten years later that the 
churches took a very active stand against the drink habit. There was 
no public agitation of the question until that great tidal wave of ex- 
citement accompanying the Washingtonian movement. In due time 
Lancaster had a Washingtonian society organized, and here, as else- 
where, it had its course, giving way to other organizations after a time. 

The next temperance organization in town was the Sons of Tem- 
perance. This organization flourished for a time, and after a lapse 
of some few years a lodge of Good Templars was organized in the 
room over R. P. Kent's store, on Main street, Dec. 4, 1865, by par- 
ties from Littleton. These, no doubt, did much to foster temper- 
ance sentiment among their members, but their influence was neces- 
sarily limited by the secrecy surrounding their actions. 

About 1880 the Temperance Union was formed. Its aim was to 
unite all the churches and the religious sentiment of the community 
against the evils of intemperance and the liquor traffic. Its meetings 
were held on the third Sunday evening of every month, and usually 



504 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

there was given an address on some phase of the temperance ques- 
tion. 

In 1895 this society was disbanded and an auxiHary branch of 
the New Hampshire Law and Order League formed in its place. 
This latter movement is the outgrowth of changes in public senti- 
ment on the temperance question. No longer is intemperance 
regarded as an evil to be remedied by moral and religious senti- 
mental agitations, but a sociological question that must be regulated 
by law. Intemperance is now regarded by all intelligent persons as 
a disease, and a propagation of a diseased condition of life is com- 
ing to be looked upon as a violation of all social order. 

The drinking habit in Lancaster is restricted, and tippling is 
regarded with contempt by the intelligent and respectable people 
of the town. Gradually more sensible views on the question be- 
came entrenched behind a body of intelligent social customs, and 
the habits of the people are improving with respect to temperance. 

The " R. S. C. club " was a secret organization, with a weird ini- 
tiation and ritual, composed of the choice spirits of the day in the 
late 40's, and held its meetings in the hall over Adams's blacksmith 
shop. Its initials, " R. S. C," stood in some occult way for " Ros- 
cicrucian," — the delvers in ancient magic ; perhaps, as Bailey Al- 
drich's " Rivermouth Centipedes," were so named from having a 
cent-a-ptece. O. G. Stephenson, Edward Wilson, Edward E. Cross, 
B. F. Hunking, and others now departed from town or from life, 
were of the elect, and some staid citizens now residents, could recall 
the "work" of those years. 

MOUNT PROSPECT GRANGE, NO. 24I. 

Mount Prospect Grange, No. 241, was organized March 13, 1896, 
by State Deputy T. H. White, assisted by Deputy Gilbert A. Mar- 
shall, of Lancaster Grange. It starts out with the largest list of 
charter members in the United States. The first meeting was at 
Eagle hall, and at 8 p. m. a goodly company was present to wel- 
come the visiting officials, and Messrs. J. D. Howe and C. E. King, 
who had labored earnestly for the success of the farmers' cause in 
Lancaster. 

Deputy White called the members to order in a happy speech, in 
which he told of the work of the grange, its mission, and then ex- 
plained the secret work in four degrees. J. D. Howe reported ninety 
charter members, and the election of officers was called for by the 
deputy, with the following result : 

C. E. King, worthy master; Chas. A. Howe, overseer; B. C. 
Morse, lecturer ; J. S. Peavey, steward ; Fred Holton, assistant stew- 
ard ; Ira G. Noyes, chaplain; J. E. Mclntire, treasurer; J. W. 
Flanders, secretary; J. S. Woodward, gate keeper; Miss Mary 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 505 

Batchelder, Pomona; Mrs. Florence Morse, Flora; Mrs. Irving Mc- 
Intire, Ceres; Miss Lilla Hartshorn, lady assistant steward. 

After the officers were chosen they were installed by Mr. White, 
and conducted to their chairs by Mr. Gilbert A. Marshall, and the 
grange turned over to the worthy master, C. E. King. In Deputy 
White's closing remarks he spoke of this grange being the largest 
he had ever organized, and predicted a large degree of success for it 
in the future. 

Following is a list of the charter members: C. E. King, Irving 
Mclntire, Geo. H. Johnson, H. F. Richardson, E. L. Morse, Alfred 
E. Remick, W. G.' Baker, J. D. Bridge, Mrs. J. S. Peavey, I. W. 
Hopkinson, Selden C. Howe, Ira G. Noyes, Geo. H. Stalbird, W. H. 
Hartley, J. W. Flanders, T. T. Baker, D. W. Batchelder, Mary E. 
Batchelder, Nellie A. Woodward, C. A. Howe, W. C. Hodgdon, 
C. W. Evans, J. S. Peavey, Annie Abbott, B. C. Morse, Mary M. 
Clough, Mrs. M. E. Stowell, F. C. Grant, Alma P. Hilliard, H. S. 
Webb, Mrs. O. J. Morse, Mrs. A. M. Beattie, C. W. Brown, Albert 
Chase, Payson E. Fernald, Geo. S. Stockwell, Elden Farnham, A. B. 
Sleeper, H. Adams, B. S. Adams, Mrs. W. A. Thompson, Mrs. 
J. E. Deering, Pearl Cummings, Geo. H. Morse, Mrs. L. R. Hosmer, 
Mrs. C. E. King, Mrs. Irving Mclntire, Mrs. Geo. H. Johnson, Mrs. 
H. F. Richardson, Mrs. E. L. Morse, Mrs. Alfred E. Remick, Mrs. 
W. G. Baker, Mrs. J. D. Bridge, Ida M. Peavey, Mrs. I. W. Hop- 
kinson, Mrs. Seldon C. Howe, Jennie M. Noyes, Fred Holton, Mrs. 
W. H. Hartley, Mrs. J. W. Flanders, Mrs. T. T. Baker, Annie J. 
Hodgdon, Ed A. Woodward, J. S. Woodward, Lilla Hartshorn, J. E. 
Mclntire, Etta A. Evans, Irving D. Hodgdon, Louisa T. Rosebrook, 
E. B. Morse, M. E. Stowell, Mrs. C. A. Howe, H. S. Hilliard, 
Emily T. Hilliard, J. H. Morse, A. M. Beattie, Geo. S. Peavey, 
Mrs. Mary E. Brown, E, P. Corrigan, Mrs. Mary Fernald, Mrs. Geo. 
S. Stockwell, Mary Farnham, Mrs. Ellen M. Sleeper, Mrs. H. P. 
Adams, W. A. Thompson, J. E. Deering, M. B. Evans, Mrs. W. C. 
Hodgdon, L. R. Hosmer, Mrs. H. S. Webb. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

The old Meeting-house — The Jails — The Court- houses — The Hotels 
— The old Red Gun House, and the State Arsenal — The Public 
Library. 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

Prominent in the history of Lancaster have been its early public 
buildings ; and among them none has enjoyed so much promi- 
nence as the old meeting-house, the first church building in the 



S06 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Province of New Hampshire north of Haverhill. For many years the 
early settlers, though religious in profession and reared under Puri- 
tan influences, got along without a meeting-house. We find by 
consulting the town records that preaching was sustained for a 
number of years prior to the building of a church building, or the 
organization of the Old First Church Society. In 1791, steps were 
taken looking to the erection of a meeting-house, which culmi- 
nated in the building of a spacious structure on a scale that was 
indicative of the character of the pioneers. They attached great 
importance to the community they had founded, and made large 
sacrifices to uphold and perpetuate it. When it came to building 
a meeting house they laid out one large enough for a community 
much larger than Lancaster has yet become. After the growth of 
a century the old structure still holds the largest popular assem- 
blages of the town with room to spare. 

The old meeting-house was erected on a common known as 
Meeting-House Hill, now known as Soldiers' Park, purchased by the 
town, and consisting of six acres, six town lots. Most of the land 
has been suffered to be lost to the town through carlessness on the 
part of the people, due no doubt to the diversion of interest in the 
old church, with the growth of other churches at later times. 

The land on which the building stood was level from the crest, and 
preserved a clear outline on the same level from Pleasant and Cot- 
tage streets. The building faced south, and stood square with the 
points of the compass. The western end was about six rods east 
of John M. Whipple's line; and the north side about on a line with 
the south side of Cottage street. The meeting-house was reached 
from the north by a road cut into the side of Sand hill, which was 
very narrow and steep ; and by three flights of steps from the north- 
west, one above another, each flight consisting of .some twelve steps. 
The landing at the foot of the hill was about where the southeasterly 
corner of the Boswell house now stands. 

The building, in outline, as it then stood, is still preserved in the 
first and second stories of Music, or Town hall, as many call it. As 
it stood on the common there were two porches containing stairways 
to the galleries that run around the entire building, except about 
one third of the north side where the pulpit stood, they would seat 
between four and five hundred people on their three rows of seats 
raised one above another. The stairway on the west end of the 
building continued up into the belfry and spire to a height greater 
than anything in this region. All the seats were so arranged that 
they could be seen from the pulpit. The front row of seats were 
known as the " singers' seats," and would accommodate about fifty 
persons. 

The body of the house was entered by doors from each porch, 




Old Meeting-house. Built 1794. 

Remodeled and Enlarged into Present Masonic Temple. 




Masonic Temple and Town Hall, 1889. 

Front of Two Lower Stories being the Meeting-house of 1794. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 507 

and a double door on the south side directly opposite the pulpit. 
The broad aisle extended from this door to the pulpit, which was 
built with considerable taste, and was reached by a flight of steps 
It was so high that a view of the galleries could be had from it, as 
well as of the body of the house. There was a row of pews all 
around the body of the house, under the galleries, except as it was 
cut through by the doors, and the space of the pulpit on the north 
side. The broad aisle divided the house into two equal parts, and 
aisles divided the wall pews from the body pews, of which last 
there were two tiers on each side of the broad aisle. The wall 
pews were raised two steps above the floor of the aisles. The pews 
were oblong in shape, finished and divided by paneling two and 
a half or three feet, surmounted by a slight balustrade and cap, so 
that a boy seven or eight years old could sit in one of the wall pews 
and look through and study the house and its occupants. Board 
seats extended across the back sides and both ends of the wall 
pews, and across one side and one end of the body pews. There 
was no upholstering whatever. All the seats, except the wall seats, 
were hung by means of loose iron hinges so as to admit being 
turned up when the congregation stood for prayers. The din and 
noise of rising and turning up the seats, and turning them down 
again in sitting down, can be better imagined than described. Many 
seemed to vie with one another to see who could make the most 
noise in manipulating the seats. 

Over the pulpit hung the sounding-board, resembling an inverted 
tunnel five feet across. It was suspended from the ceiling by an 
iron rod, and hung directly over the head of the minister. Doubt- 
less the mind of many a boy, at times, wandered from the preach- 
er's theme to conjecture the possible results of that rod breaking 
and dropping the sounding-board upon the head of the minister. 

The " deacon's seats" were directly in front of the pulpit, and in 
fact below where the minister stood, facing the audience. In front 
of the deacon's seat stood a broad-leafed table, on which the com- 
munion service was set on stated occasions. This table was sus- 
tained by iron braces and was let down when not in use. On the 
pulpit and the deacon's seats was the only attempt at painting about 
the house. These were covered with a slight coating of lead color. 
As to means of warming the house in winter, there was not even an 
attempt, until the house had been in use more than twenty-five 
years, when a stove was set up directly in front of the pulpit in 
the broad aisle. So far as it affected the temperature of the im- 
mense building it might as well have been set out on the common. 
How ever the worshipers kept from freezing in that cold house in 
dead of winter is a mystery we will not attempt to solve. However, 
the women dressed in heavy flannels, and wore heavy knitted socks 



508 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

over their shoes, and every thoughtful matron, when she entered the 
church, was followed by a boy carrying her foot-stove, a tastily made 
wooden frame with a bail, inside of which was a tin or sheet-iron 
lining, about eight inches square, perforated on top. In this stove 
was a sheet-iron pan holding a quart or more of burning coals. The 
matron seated, the boy placed the stove under her feet, which she 
would pass to her daughters as occasion demanded. But the men 
and the boys ! I fancy that their gallantry and the lack of enough 
coals to burn through a Puritan service of more than an hour in 
length, left them with cold feet. Be that as it may, the old meeting- 
house had a hold on the inhabitants of the town that no modern one 
has ever enjoyed. 

In front of the house, and a little distance from it, were two 
" horse blocks," which were cut from immense pine logs, of the 
requisite height, with two steps in each, to enable the ladies to 
mount and dismount their steeds, for many of them were accus- 
tomed for many years after the early occupancy of the meeting- 
house to ride on horseback. Many of the young women were 
adepts in that manner of riding. Not a few of the more sprightly 
girls would disdain the horse block and mount from the ground by 
placing their hands on the necks of the horses and springing into 
the saddle. Tradition says that Lucy Howe, who married Ethan A. 
Crawford, and Betsey Stanley, who married James B. Weeks, were 
accustomed to mount their horses in that manner. The latter is 
remembered by a few who still survive as an excellent rider even in 
advanced age. 

Excepting the stately and aristocratic chaise, of which Parson 
Willard owned the first in town, carriages were not in use in Lan- 
caster until about 1820; and those who did not own a chaise had 
to ride on horseback or travel on foot. A walk of two or three 
miles for the boys and girls of that day was thought to be only a 
refreshing exercise. The girls usually exchanged, by the roadside, 
their heavy walking shoes for their thin morocco ones, that would 
show their feet to better advantage, before reaching the church. 
The elderly people usually came to church on horseback, some with 
a child riding behind them ; but those who could afford a chaise, 
and there were many, neither walked nor rode horseback, no matter 
how near the church they might live, or how they got about town 
on week days. On Sunday morning the chaise was hitched up, and 
the mistress of the house with her children, rode to meeting in what 
was considered becoming style. And it is said by one who still 
remembers those scenes, that it would do any one of to-day good to 
see the grace and dignity with which madame would alight from 
her chaise, while one of her boys, or a man who had preceded her 
on foot or horseback, took her horse and chaise away and cared for 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 509 

them while she entered the house and took her seat in her pew. In 
fact, the whole congregation seemed to enter the church with a pe- 
culiarly reverential awe that can hardly be understood by the people 
of the present generation. 

THE CONGREGATION. 

The congregation that assembled in that ancient place of worship 
was one of uncommon character; and we borrow the following des- 
cription of it from the pen of Judge James W. Weeks, who remem- 
bers the old church and the congregation since before 1820, as he 
was born in 181 1, and is of almost unimpaired faculties at the pres- 
ent writing. He says : 

" I occupied, with my parents, the first wall pew west of the front door, and 
usually sat in the corner next the broad aisle and the lesser aisle west, so I was 
able to look through between the banisters and study the house, the whole of 
which was exposed to my view except small and unimportant sections. Directly 
in front of me, in the first body pew on the left, sat Deacon Farrar, his wife, and 
Miss Abbie Bergin, who usually dressed in white, and attracted the attention of 
boys by the deliberate manner in which she entered the pew and took her seat. 
The deacon was a dark complexioned, dyspeptic little man, with his thin black 
hair combed up to the top of his head to cover his baldness. In the second wall 
pew on the left sat .Mrs. John Moore and her son William, who carried his head a 
little to one side. His first wife I do not remember seeing at church ; but his 
second wife (Mary Sampson) soon made her appearance, full of life, bright and 
handsome as any of her daughters. In the first wall pew on the right of the door 
from the west porch, sat Captain Stephenson, his son Turner, and his daughter 
Eliza. The captain was an old man, quite bald and stooping. Richard Eastman 
and family occupied the body pew directly in front of the west door. David 
Burnside, fresh and ruddy, with blue coat and bright buttons, showed him- 
self with his wife in the second wall pew on the left of the west door. Thomas 
Carlisle, also wearing bright metal buttons, with his dressy wife, occupied the next 
wall pew adjoining Burnside's. The minister's pew was the first one next to the 
wall west of the pulpit. Mrs. Everett, a handsome widow, with her daughters, 
occupied about the fourth body pew on the right of the broad aisle. Mrs. Board- 
man occupied the next pew adjoining toward the pulpit. 

" That congregation is arrayed before me as if it were but yesterday that I saw 
it last. A little later, perhaps 1822, Jared W. Williams from Connecticut, with 
his wife, appeared in the old church. Royal Joyslin also returned from Bath. 
He was straight and handsome as a man is ever likely to be. Soon an exceed- 
ingly pretty lady, Julia Barnard, changed her seat, and was seen sitting in church 
with Mr. Joyslin. Nothing attracted my boyish attention more than the different 
' manner in which the people stood during prayers. The women usually stood 
erect, with their heads on the railing of the pews. Some fidgetv men and wo- 
men were constantly changing their position. There was Major Weeks, tall and 
stately, six feet and two inches in his stockings, standing like a post, perfectly 
erect, with arms folded and eyes cast upon the floor a few feet in front of him as 
if on parade, never moving a muscle, however long the service might be. Deacon 
Farrar and a few others, leaned over the tops of their pews. 

" There was one thing that troubled my boyish mind! I could not see the sing- 
ers. All I could see were several men and women come into the gallery from tlie 



5IO HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

east porch, and at the close of the service, as the congregation passed out, Will- 
iam Lovejoy, with strong and sonorous voice, would announce marriages intended, 
and the like. This seemed a part of the service. After a time I got a seat in 
the gallery, when my curiosity was gratified. The singers were twelve or fifteen 
powerful men, and perhaps as many ladies. What the music lacked in culture 
and taste it made up in power ; and such strains of melody as went up to the Great 
Majesty on high were neither faint nor to be misunderstood. 

" No choir seems blessed with perpetual peace. This one was no exception to 
that rule, for one morning in the days of Orange Scott, Francis Bingham ap- 
peared in the singers' seats with a bass viol. The hymn was started, and the 
strings of the viol vibrated. That caused the ancient chorister to stop; and ad- 
dressing the fancied offender, said, ' Mr. Bingham, you must put away that fiddle. 
We can't sing.' The • fiddle,' however, held its own on that and many succeed- 
ing Sundays, and was soon joined by the tones of a flute in the hands of O. W. 
Baker, and a clarinet played by Walter Sherman. 

"At the close of the services the Doxology was usually sung to the tune of 
' Old Hundred.' The benediction followed, when the congregation left as rever- 
ently as it had assembled." 

Such, reader, was the first church of Lancaster, from a hundred 
years ago down to within the recollection of men and women still 
living ; and what the influence of such men and institutions have 
had in shaping the destiny of our civilization can scarcely be con- 
jectured. One thing is certain: the reverential influence of the 
scenes here described by Judge Weeks, show themselves in the lives 
of the men and women of those days who still linger with us, in a 
manner that should cause the younger people to carefully consider 
them as worthy of much thoughtful respect and imitation. 

THE JAH.S OF LANCASTER. 

The Old yail. — The first prison in Lancaster consisted of a 
room in the Wilson tavern at the north end of Main street where 
the first court sessions were held in the hall of that building, 1804- 
1806. For two years that prison room was kept by Judge Will- 
iam Lovejoy, who along with many other distinctions adds that 
of being the first jailor of the county. In 1806, when the first 
court-house was erected there was a jail in course of construction 
also. Both buildings were erected on lands given for their res- 
pective purposes by Artemas Wilder, who owned a large tract of 
land at the north end of Main street. This jail was a wooden 
structure, two stories high, with a residence for the jailor's family. 
It had an upper and lower room for prisoners. That portion of 
the building was constructed of hewn elm logs eighteen inches 
square bolted together with iron bolts, its heavy wooden doors se- 
cured by padlocks. Isaac Derby, "Squire Derby" as he was 
called, hewed the elm logs for this old jail. He was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary war, and the War of 18 12. He tended the old 
Wilder mill for many years. 




Original Court-house. 

Now Public Library. 
(Originally with flat roof, without porch or tower.) 







-i- rr t ' , y ; 



^"■^'f 



Brick Court-house, i 835-1 868. 

From Old County Map. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 5 I I 

This building stood on the same lot where the present jail now stands 
only a little to the east of the present one. It was built on con- 
tract by Colonel Chessman and Nathaniel White. 

The old building was the scene of many struggles between its 
keepers and the vicious "border rufhans," — murderers, counterfeit- 
ers and smugglers — confined within its massive walls. Great iron 
rings and chains were fastened to its floors to which many of the 
more violent criminals had to be fastened. For fifty-two years it 
served the end for which it had been erected. In the early morning 
of January 9, 1858, it was discovered to be on fire, having taken 
fire from a defective adjustment of a stovepipe. Among the early 
and more prominent jailors were Colonel Dennison and George W. 
Ingerson. The latter was jailor at the time of the burning of the 
"Old Elm Jail." The next jail was a stone structure since replaced 
by a modern jail of steel cells and outside corridors, encased in 
wooden walls. 

THE COURT-HOUSES. 

For two years after Coos county was organized, and Lancaster 
was set apart as a shire town, the courts were held in a hall in Col. 
John Wilson's tavern, a large wooden building standing about where 
the Benton residence now stands, and later moved out and up the 
street, as a tenement. The same hall served for a while as a lodge 
room for the Masons, and as a place of assemblage for various pur- 
poses for many years. 

The first court-house was built in 1806, on land given for that 
purpose by Artemas Wilder, on the corner of Main and Bridge 
streets. The building is still standing, and used as a public library 
building on the south side of Centennial park. It was a square 
wooden building, one story, and of but one room. This was the 
court room, the juries retiring for their deliberations to a room in 
Wilson's hotel, where the courts had formerly been held. The 
room was heated by a sort of furnace consisting of a brick arch 
over the top of which was an inverted " potash kettle," with a hole 
through the bottom, to which a pipe was attached to carry off the 
smoke. For many years that heater did splendid service. The 
room could be heated so easily that for many years funerals were 
held there during winter months, as the old meeting-house was 
large and not provided with means of heating. After 1829 Lancas- 
ter academy was conducted in the same room, so that men were 
educated there, received justice meted out there by jurists of sterling 
integrity, and eulogized there and commended to the favor and 
mercy of the courts of heaven, all in the same room. It was neces- 
sarily a utilitarian age in which men were forced to study how to 
get the most out of their opportunities ; and they solved the prob- 



512 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

lem well, for meeting-houses were places not only for religious and 
Sunday assemblages, but there their business meetings took place. 

After a time a bell that was brought into the country by Jacob 
Smith, known as " Guinea Smith," which he used for a while at a 
factory, was procured for the court-house by Jared W. Williams, 
secretary of Lancaster academy, for the joint use of courts and 
academy. It was mounted on a tripod of poles in front of the 
building. This same bell, as near as can now be ascertained, the 
first one brought into the Coos country, is now mounted in the 
tower of the graded school building, having been contributed by 
Jared I. Williams for that purpose. Mr. Williams came into pos- 
session of the bell after the building had ceased to be used for 
academy purposes, and was sold to the Baptist church and remod- 
eled. The inscription upon the bell is : "Doolittle. Hartford. For 
W. & B. 1818." 

This first court-house became too small and inconvenient to meet 
the demands upon it in twenty years after its erection. The ques- 
tion of a new court-house was agitated, but a disinclination upon the 
part of the people, and especially the county officials, deferred the 
matter so long that they lost the opportunity of decision through 
Judge Arthur Livermore's decree ordering a new building. He 
even prescribed the plans on which it was to be built. This second 
court-house was located where the present one now stands, and was 
sufficient for the county until 1868, when it became necessary to 
rebuild it. 

In 1853 a county building was erected on the banks of Isreals 
river, where Frank Smith & Co.'s store building now is, next to the 
National Bank building. In this building there was provided room 
for the county offices. It seems to have been poorly built, and 
became unsafe in ten years after its erection. This building and the 
court-house being in bad repair it was determined to pull them both 
down and erect a larger and more suitable court-house that should 
contain the county offices also. When the old court-house, a one- 
story building, high posted and graceful, was torn down in July, 
1868, there was found securely fastened to the arch of the eastern 
gable a package containing a copy each of the Have^'hill Demo- 
ci'at-Refiiblican and the New Hani^sJm-e Patriot,, then the two 
leading newspapers of the northern part of New England, together 
with the following bit of the history of the old building, in the hand- 
writing of Richard Eastman : 

" This building was erected for holding the Courts in the County of Coos, state 
of New Hampshire. Commenced June 7, i83i,and will probably be completed 
by October i, of the same year, expense about $1,800. The stone and brick work 
was undertaken by Gen. John Wilson and Lieut. Joseph C. Cady. The stone 
work cut and hammered by Elisha Cushman and William Holmes. Master 
workman of the brick work, Capt. Peter Merrill. Assistant workmen, William 



i 




Court-house, i 868-1 886. 







Court-house, \{ 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 513 

Page, Zadoc Cady, Joseph C. Cady, Calvin Willard, Jonathan W. Willard. Tend- 
ers, Josiah G. Hobart, Samuel Banfield, William W. Moore, William Horn, Frank- 
lin Savage. The carpenters' work done under the superintendence of William 
Moody. The joiners' work done by Richard Eastman, Elijah D. Twombly, Arte- 
nias Lovejoy. The committee who superintended the whole building of said house 
were John W. Weeks, Thomas Carlisle and Richard Eastman." 

The third court-house, built in 1868, was a two-story brick build- 
ing 70 X 40 feet in size with a cupola and bell mounted in it. It 
was finished in May, 1869. The first floor contained two jury rooms, 
offices of probate judge and register of deeds. The second story 
contained an ample court room and the offices of the county com- 
missioners and county treasurer. Its first cost was about $17,000, 
but through alterations in the course of construction and afterward, 
this sum was increased to nearly $30,000. The building was, in 
every way, entirely satisfactory, and was pronounced for those times 
a model court-house. This building was in use until November, 
1886, when some repairs were being made upon the vaults which 
were considered unsafe for the custody of the county's records cover- 
ing a period of eighty-two years since the organization of the county. 
In the process of drying the vaults, stoves had been set up and used ; 
and at the same time steam heating apparatus was being adjusted in 
the building up to midnight on the 4th of November, at which hour 
the custodians of the building left, feeling that everything was safe ; 
but about two o'clock in the morning following the building was 
discovered to be on fire. All possible efforts were made to save it, 
but in vain. Both the building and contents were entirely lost. 
But few of the records were saved and they in a mutilated condi- 
tion. This was the second conflagration of the county records, the 
first being the court records kept in the office of the clerk, James 
M. Rix, in the wooden building where P. J. Noyes's manufactory is 
on Main street, burned during Mr. Rix's absence. 

In consequence of having failed to inform the insurance compa- 
nies, and getting their consent, the county was unable to collect 
the insurance from the fire of 1886. The loss of the building was 
the smallest item of all. The loss of the records will be felt for all 
time. Hon. W. S. Ladd, who had his law office in the building, 
sustained the loss of a very valuable library and all his law papers. 

The county convention was convened in town hall, Lancaster, Dec. 
9, 1886, and steps were taken at once to rebuild the court-house. 
Other towns began to make movements to secure the location of the 
new court-house with them. Groveton, which had then become a 
railroad junction of the Concord & Montreal railroad (now Boston 
& Maine) and the Grand Trunk railroad, offered a considerable 
sum of money toward rebuilding as an inducement to locate it 
there. Berlin, however, was the strongest competitor of Lancaster 
for the location of the county seat. That town generously offered to 
33 



514 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

build and give the county a court-house if the people would accept 
it and locate the county seat there. When the question was voted 
upon the vote stood thirteen in favor of Lancaster to six against it. 
The convention instructed the county commissioners to rebuild the 
court-house at once. The contract was awarded to Mead, Mason & 
Co., of Concord, for $17,000. The citizens of Lancaster raised a 
large sum by subscription for extra work on the building. The 
building was completed in due time, and has proven to be a model 
building of the kind. It is 70 x 50 feet, with a projection on each 
side of 6 feet, making a front of 66 feet, three stories high, and a 
cupola and spire, reaching 100 feet from the foundation. The build- 
ing is of brick, with stone trimmings. On the first floor are the ofifices 
of probate court, register of deeds, county commissioners, grand 
jury and solicitor, and clerk of the courts. On the second floor is 
the court room, 50 x 50 feet, well lighted on three sides. There 
are in front on this floor three rooms, the lawyers' room, judges' 
room, and private consultation room. 

On the third floor, front, are the petit jury rooms, sheriff's room 
and the county sealers' room. There are three large, fire-proof 
vaults in the building, — in the clerk's ofhce, probate ofifice, and 
register of deeds office. There is a basement under the entire 
building. The building is heated with steam and lighted by elec- 
tricity throughout. 

THE HOTELS. 

For many years Lancaster had a number of " taverns." These 
establishments afforded accommodation for the few travelers who 
might chance to get so far toward the frontier towns of the state. 
The taverns served drinks to the citizens of the town. They were all 
licensed to sell " mixed drinks," " foreign and domestic liquors," 
" West India rum," " brandy," of which commodities quantities were 
consumed in the early days of the town. Many of the leading 
men of the town held license to sell liquors. The tavern met the 
wants of the new community, however, as well as the hotel of 
to-day does that of a community fully abreast of the country in all 
respects. 

The first of them kept in town were by Major Jonas Wilder, 
Stephen Wilson, and Gen. John Wilson, at the upper end of Main 
street. Major Wilder kept his tavern in his, then large, new dwell- 
ing house, which is known as the Holton place to-day. Here he 
lodged and fed man and beast, and sold " flip," rum, and other 
drinks. The town being without a meeting-house at the time his 
home was thrown open as a place for holding religious meetings. 

The Wilson tavern was the large, square, flat-roofed building now 
standing on the west side of Main street, near the corner of Bridge 












Old Lanxaster House. 

Burned 1S78. 




:fr;i3iffni^rp 



£i-«a.;s/-.-.iL-«*.«s»ffl«S!a«B(W2a»ti»>*-.'^«**>»« 



4^ 



luWN Hali. and Aa[erica\ House, 1876. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 5 15 

street. It then stood where the Benton dwelling now does. For 
many years this was the most famous tavern in Lancaster. The 
same building served also for a store, furnished jury rooms as be- 
fore stated when court was in session at the old one-room court- 
house on the corner of Main and Bridge streets, now the public 
library, after having served as academy, church, and armory ; and 
in one room was extemporized the first prison within the limits of 
Coos county. 

About the year 1812, Sylvanus Chessman built a tavern on the 
corner of Main and Elm streets. At this time business was begin- 
ning to move toward that locality. Chessman's tavern was a land- 
mark for many years and enjoyed a good patronage. Col. Sylva- 
nus Chessman kept the house for some years himself, and aside 
from his many other distinctions became a famous landlord. After 
Chessman gave up this tavern it was kept by Samuel White, father 
of Nathaniel White, later of Concord, during which period it was 
known as White's tavern. Mr. White kept a stock of goods in the 
bar-room also. He was succeeded by Noyes S. Dennison, who was 
landlord for a number of years, when it passed into the hands of 
William G. Wentworth, who improved the place and renamed it 
the American House. It bore this name always afterward. Land- 
lord Wentworth was succeeded by Frederick Fisk. The other land- 
lords of this old house were John P. Dennison, Thomas J. Crawford, 
W. K. Richey, William Wolcott, Nichols & Fling, and Francis and 
Will A. Richardson. The old hotel was afterward burned. The 
front door of this noted old landmark is now doing service in the 
L of John G. Derby's house on Williams street. 

The next hotel of any importance in the village was the old Coos 
Hotel, on the corner of Main and Canal streets. It was built by 
Ephraim Cross in 1827. Mr. Cross ran the house for some years, 
when it fell into the hands of Joseph C. Cady, who put an addition 
to it in 1837. For many years this was the leading hotel of the town 
and region and was successful under the managernent of Landlord 
Cady. The building fell into the hands of George C. Williams who 
removed it to the rear of the lot in 1865. The hotel had declined 
after the building of the Lancaster House, which was a very much 
better hostelry than any the village had ever had before. It is 
now, with additions, the large livery stable on Canal street. 

On August 4, 1858, the first Lancaster House was opened for the 
reception of guests. This house stood where the present Lancaster 
House does. It was built by moneys paid to the town by the 
Atlantic & St. Lawrence railroad because of their failure to build 
their road through Lancaster in accordance with an arrangement to 
that effect. In return for the violation of their agreement they paid 
over to the projectors of that arrangement the sum of $20,000. 



$l6 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

After the payment of certain expenses connected with railroad 
efforts, the custodians of that fund thought they would be serving 
the town by erecting a first-class hotel. Accordingly they pur- 
chased a lot of Dr. John Dewey, and entered into a contract with 
the late John Lindsey to erect the building. A hotel company had 
been formed, and purchased the building before its completion. 
Mr. John Lindsey was one of the company, and landlord for some 
years. Other landlords were D. A. Burnside, who was its owner, 
Elijah Stanton, B. H. Corning, and Lewis Cole. This first Lancas- 
ter House was burned Sept. 28, 1878, at a loss on building and 
furnishings of $30,000, with but $2,500 insurance. 

The house was at once rebuilt, which building is the Lancaster 
House of to-day. Our people contributed by subscription over 
$6,000 to the enterprise. It has rooms to accommodate 150 guests, 
is heated by steam, lighted by gas manufactured in the building, 
by electricity, and in every respect is a first-class hotel. Since the 
death of Mr. Lindsey, his son, Ned B. Lindsey, was proprietor, and 
remained so until his death in February, 1 891, to be succeeded by 
his widow, Mrs. Carrie B. Lindsey, since which time it has been 
most successfully conducted by his son-in-law, Lauren B. Whipp. 

T/ie Willia7)is House. — In the spring of 1872, John M. Hopkins 
bought the old Governor Williams residence on Elm street and 
fitted it up as a hotel by building an L to it, and in 1889 raised 
the main building one story. The main portion of the building 
was erected by Governor Williams in 1847. By many additions 
and improvements it was converted into a very comfortable host- 
elry. It contains twenty-three rooms for guests, is heated by steam, 
and lighted by electricity throughout. It is kept at present (1896), 
and has been most of the time, by John M. Hopkins. 

The Tempe?'ance House. — A one-story cottage, with rambling 
additions, standing where the Hazeltine block is on Main street, was 
kept for a score of years from the early 40's by George Howe, a 
harmless, peculiar herb doctor and exhorter. It was a neat and com- 
fortable place and much favored by jurymen and economical travelers. 

The Steivart House and Green s Cottage, on Mechanic street, 
are comfortable, home-like hotels of a modest class. 

For several years between the burning and rebuilding of the Lan- 
caster House, and later, B. F. Hunking used his brick residence on 
Main street as a hotel, "Elm Cottage," with great success and com- 
fort to guests. 

THE OLD RED GUN HOUSE. 

At a very early day Lancaster, being so near the northern boun- 
dary of the country, was looked upon as a sort of outpost. In the 
first settlement of the " Upper Coos" a fort was erected at Northum- 




New Lanxaster House. 




Samuel H. LeGro. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 5 17 

berland, but as Lancaster outranked all the adjoining towns through 
the valor of its soldiery in the several conflicts with the Indians and 
French, it was early looked upon as furnishing both a good share of 
the " sinews of war " and the generalship for its direction. Here 
was the home of the noted Twenty-fourth, and later of the Forty- 
second regiment, among the most creditable regiments in the state. 
The artillery company had its field piece for the accommodation of 
which a gun house was erected on the lot adjoining the mound of 
the old cemetery, about where the Unitarian church now stands. 
This house was painted red, and was referred to as the " Red Gun 
House." It was a landmark in the village. Here was stored a three- 
pounder brass gun. In 1842 a state arsenal, with two cannon and 
2,000 stand of arms for use in this section of the state, was estab- 
lished at Lancaster. 

This old red gun house was a small one-story building, just 
large enough to accommodate the equipment of the artillery com- 
pany. When it fell into disuse it was moved over to the foot of 
Baker hill, and is still in existence as a shed on the Hosmer place 
on Elm street, near the corner of Williams street. 

While this old building remained in its original location there 
stood a liberty pole on its south side, keeping watch over its treas- 
ures, while proudly waving from it was the flag under which many 
a Lancaster man marched to the defense of the nation. Later the 
artillery had a modern six-pound brass gun, which with a like gun 
of the Twenty-fourth at Stewartstown, went to war in the New 
Hampshire battery in 1861. 

THE STATE ARSENAL. 

In 1842, as a result of the agitation over the Ashburton treaty 
and the northern boundary and of changes in the number and terri- 
tory of the regiments of the state, a new arsenal was erected at Lan- 
caster on the corner of Elm and Spring streets. Coos county was 
originally all embraced in the Twenty-fourth regiment; later the 
Forty-second, covering practically the Southern judicial district, 
was formed, leaving the Northern district country as the Twenty- 
fourth. This was a larger structure, and a larger equipment was 
stored here. Here were brought two six-pounder iron cannon, said 
to have been captured by General Stark in the battle of Bennington, 
Vt., in the Revolutionary War. They were brought through the 
Notch of the White Mountains, from Portsmouth, on the freight 
teams of Francis Wilson in 1842. These, with 2,000 small arms, 
constituted the armament of the arsenal. This arsenal remained 
here until the reorganization of the militia of the state was made 
necessary by the War of the Rebellion. The two historic guns 
were left here when the armament was removed in 1861. 



5l8 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

In 1862 Col. Henry O. Kent, then a member of the legislature 
from Lancaster, secured the passage of an act for the removal of 
these two guns to Concord, to be placed in the rotunda of the state 
house. In consequence of the events of war the contemplated 
removal of these guns was delayed, and they remained in the old 
arsenal building. 

On the night of April 14, 1865, on hearing the news of the sur- 
render of Lee and the Confederate army, the citizens of Lancaster 
brought out one of these guns to celebrate the news of final victory 
in the preservation of the Union. The gun was placed on the crest 
of Baker hill, northeast, and charged with five pounds of fine rifle 
powder, tamped with dry sand to the muzzle, and slow matched. 
The explosion burst the gun into fragments. One of these frag- 
ments was afterwards dug out of the road over forty rods away, 
where it buried itself deep in the hard ground in the road in front 
of the Ockington place. It bears the " broad arrow" of the British 
ordnance ofifice, the imperial crown, and the letters, " G. R.," 
Georgius Rex, or George the King. This fragment is now to be 
seen in the banking oflfice of the Lancaster Savings bank, where it 
is kept as an historic relic. 

The companion gun is now at the state house, Concord, as con- 
templated by the action of the legislature in 1862, but not exposed 
as directed, being stored in its cellars. 

LANCASTER PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

The first settlers of Lancaster were men of few books. Every 
family had its Bible or a New Testament and the Psalms, and possi- 
bly a few of the then standard volumes of theology and sermons. 
They appreciated those few books within their reach. They sought 
for their children a good education, and often made commendable 
sacrifices to provide schools. The second and third generations born 
in Lancaster developed a remarkable taste for good literature. As 
I peruse their old letters, diaries, and other records, I find quota- 
tions and allusions to the best literature of this country, showing 
a greater degree of familiarity and love of it than one sees to-day in 
people of common advantages. Their familiarity with ancient his- 
tory and classical literature was evidently very considerable. Until 
within the present decade or two, the men and women of Lancaster 
were noted for their individuality and independence. The " level- 
ing down " influences came into Lancaster life within thirty years, 
virtually with the railroad, telegraph, and daily newspaper. Not 
until these things came did the people study to affect the opinions 
and conform to the usages of the rest of the country. Since then 
Lancaster, like every other community, has relatively less prominent 
men, because it has vastly more average men. The average, how- 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 5 19 

ever, is higher to-day than formerly, but one misses the rare, strong 
personahties that shone Hke stars among mankind. Learning and 
the hterary taste is more democratic now than formerly. There is 
relatively more poor, if not indeed bad, literature read to-day than 
fifty years ago ; but the amount of good literature is greater now 
than then. The remnants of the private libraries of some of the old 
families evince what must be conceded a very good taste and sound 
judgment of books. Lancaster long ago became noted for the 
quality and quantity of good literature sold here ; and to show 
more fully this fact, I will give two lists of books offered for sale 
through the medium of newspaper advertisements. This first one is 
taken from the While Mountain yEgis, in 1838, as follows: 

A PERKINS & CO. 
Have just received a new supply of Books, consisting of the following : 

Goodrich's History of the U. States, 

Whelpley's Compend, 

Vose's Astronomy, 

Political Class Book, 

Watts on the Mind, 

Charles the 12th, 

Le Burn's Telemaque, 

Nugent's Dictionary, 

Adam's Latin Grammar, by Gould, 

Jacob's Latin Reader, 

Cicero's Orations, 

Goodrich's Greek Grammar, 

" " Lessons, 

Jacob's " Readers, 

Wilson's " Testaments, 
Ainsworth Dictionary, &c, 
French Word Books, 
Day's Algebra, 
French Grammar, 
Abbott's Abercrombie, 
Blair's Lectures, 
Cooper's Virgil, 
Benjamin's Architecture. 

Here is another of the many lists offered from month to month 
by J. M. Rix in the Cods Democrat for 1846 : 

Alison's Modern Europe, 3 vols. 

Gibbon's History of Rome, 4 vols. 

Brougham's Speeches, 2 vols. 

Festus. Howitt, Milman and Keats. 

Wilson's Miscellanies. Hallam's Middle Ages. 

Essays of Elia, by Charles Lamb. 

Jefferson's Life and Correspondence, 4 vols. 

Political Economy, works by Say, Chalmers and Wayland. 



520 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, 3 vols. 

Botta's American Revolution, 2 vols. 

Mill's History of the Crusades. 

History of the Huguenots. 

Ranke's History of the Popes. 

Kane's Chemistry. 

Spurzheim's Phrenology, 2 vols. 

Thiers' French Revolution, 2 vols, for $2 only. 

Rollin's Ancient History, 2 vols, for $3. 

Tosephus, $1.12. 

Poetical works of Shakespeare, Byron, Moore, Campbell, Thomson, Hemans, 

Young, Cowper, Pollok, Burns, Landon, Kirke White, Elliott, &c. 
Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. 
Roscoe's Lorenzo d'Medici. 
Kendall's Santa Fe Expedition. 
Rowan's French Revolution. 
Ingersoll's War of i8i2-'i3. 
Napoleon's Expedition to Russia. 
Defoe's History of the Plague. 

For a number of years Mr. Rix conducted a bookstore in connec- 
tion with his newspaper business, and carried a large stock of good 
books. 

In i860 a "Reading Circle" was organized in Lancaster, and 
began to collect books with a view of establishing a library. In a 
short time a good circulating library was in operation. An enter- 
tainment was given in the town hall, Nov. 27, i860, to raise money 
for that purpose. 

This library grew steadily in number of books and in favor in the 
community, so that in seven years the idea of a public library had 
gained so much favor that steps were taken to bring it about. An 
organization was effected. Hon. William Heywood was the first 
president of the library association, and Dr. George O. Rogers, at 
whose office the library was kept, was its first librarian. There were 
then but 554 volumes in it, 66 of which had been contributed by 
the older society, the Reading Circle; 140 were donated by inter- 
ested individuals, and the remainder purchased from funds of the 
association. After a three years' sojourn with Dr. Rogers, the 
library was moved into a room furnished and fitted up for the pur- 
pose in Parker J. Noyes's drug store. A catalogue of the books 
was prepared and published. It only remained one year in this 
location, when it was removed again to Dr. Rogers's ofiice, where it 
remained for a time, and after several other moves was located in a 
room in the Kent building. Mar. 29, 1876, from which it was moved 
in 1884 to its present location, in what was the old academy build- 
ing for many years, on the south side of Centennial park. Main 
street. 

At the annual town-meeting of 1884, the library association 
offered to give their books to the town on condition that the 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 52 1 

town maintain a public library free to all its citizens. This condi- 
tion they met very cheerfully, and agreed to appropriate four hun- 
dred dollars a year for its proper maintenance. A board of trustees 
was elected and given the custody and management of the library. 
The first trustees were J. I. Williams, Frank D. Hutchins, Geo. P. 
Rowell, I. W. Drew, and Emily Rowell. 

Geo. P. Rowell gave the use of the old academy building free for 
a term of five years on condition that the sum of five hundred dol- 
lars be raised by popular subscription. This condition the citizens 
very generously met by promptly raising that sum. Mr. Rowell 
also provided at his own expense a catalogue of the library at the 
time. This catalogue was of 140 pages, containing about 3,000 
titles. This first catalogue of the public library was prepared by 
Rev. J. B. Morrison, minister of the Unitarian church, and Mrs. 
Philip Carpenter, the librarian. The library was thrown open to 
the public July 29, 1884. Since that time it has enjoyed a healthy 
and continuous growth, reaching close to 6,500 volumes at present, 
besides many pamphlets and public documents. 

In 1895 the town bought the land on which the building stands. 
It now has the use of the whole amount of the appropriation of $400 
per year, as the town remitted the rent at the annual meeting in 
March, 1896. 

At the annual town-meeting of 1895 an appropriation of $500 
was voted for the preparation and publication of a new catalogue of 
the library. 

The work of catalogueing the books is now complete at the hands 
of Mrs. Sarah J. Williarns, Mrs. M. A. Hastings, Miss Hawthorne, 
and a suitable catalogue has been published. 

The present board of trustees is I. W. Drew, Geo. P. Rowell, J. I. 
Williams, F. D. Hutchins, and Mrs. M. A. Hastings; Mrs. Sarah J. 
Williams, librarian. 

The library is much used, and is one of the most helpful institu- 
tions of the town. 

THE READING-ROOMS. 

During the spring of 1889, several ladies connected with the 
Women's Christian Temperance Union opened reading-rooms with 
a gymnasium connected in the north rooms of the town hall build- 
ing now occupied by Flanders's fruit store. Chief among the pro- 
moters of the enterprise were Mrs. M. A. Hastings, Mrs. C. A. Howe, 
and Mrs. Sarah W. Brown. These ladies secured funds enough on 
a subscription to meet the expenses of the rooms, about $350 a year. 
The rooms were well patronized from the start, especially the 
gymnasium. After a time, however, the privileges of that depart- 
ment were abused and it was closed. After the first year of the 



S-2 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

experiment it was seen to be a matter of considerable importance 
in the way of furnishing a place of resort for idle boys and young 
men who profited considerably by its services, and several men 
brought the matter before the town at the annual town-meeting of 
1890. and secured an appropriation of Si 00 toward the expense. 
This amount was given by the town for four years, after which it 
was increased to $150, and next to $200, until at the town-meeting 
in March, 1896, when the town assumed the entire expense, and 
appointed a committee consisting of Mrs. M. A. Hastings, ISIrs. C. 
A. Howe, and ^Merrill Shurtleff, to have charge and manage the 
rooms as a town institution. 

In 1892 the rooms were moved to their present location in the 
south side of the town hall building. At that time a young 
people's friendship temperance club was organized, and assisted 
financially to the amount of $50 in fitting up the rooms, after which 
the club declined, and is not in existence. After the g}'mnasium had 
been given up a boys' brotherhood was organized and conducted 
by Rev. C. A. Young, minister of the Unitarian church, for some 
time ; but this is not now existing. 

The rooms have been used by the Woman's Christian Temper- 
ance Union always, as well as for other purposes, except evenings, 
when it is open to the public. That organization has, until the 
present year, 1S96, raised nearly two hundred dollars for the support 
of the rooms by soliciting subscriptions, and by ser\-ing dinners at 
town-meetings and sociables. The rooms are generously supplied 
with literature of a great variet}' — newspapers, magazines, illustrated 
papers, and books. They are also arranged for, and supplied 
with, a variety of games. A large number of boys and young men 
are constant visitors. 

After the periodical literature has done its full service in the 
rooms it is taken either to the jail, or to the lumber camps in winter 
and does sen-ice over again until worn out. The influence of the 
institution is thus widened. It is not conducted as a charitable or 
a reformaton,' concern, but as a public institution designed to meet 
a real want in the life of the village. It has had for a number of 
years the ser\-ices of Thomas D. Carbee for janitor and custodian. 
'Sir. Carbee has taken a generous and kindly interest in the patrons 
of the rooms, and through a firm but kind discipline has managed 
them well. 

It is hoped that the time is not far distant when the public library- 
and the reading-rooms will be properly housed in one suitable 
building with the arrangements and conveniences required for such 
institutions.* 

* This hope has been fulfilled by the removal in 1899 of the " reading-room " to the 
library building. 



THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 523 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

Until 1834 neither the town nor the village had any means of 
protecting property from the ravages of fire, except the simple one 
of pouring water upon it by means of pails. In that year a petition 
was signed by a goodly number of persons asking the town to take 
action toward adopting and defining portions of an act of the legis- 
lature of ]\Iarch 22, 1828, with respect to the duties of fire wards, 
and others in certain cases. The selectmen, in compliance with the 
wishes of the petitioners, called a special town-meeting on July 4, 
1834. The meeting took favorable action on the petition, and 
appointed the following named men as fire wards : David Burnside, 
Warren Porter, Harvey Adams. Turner Stephenson. John Wilson, 
Royal Joyslin, Benjamin Stephenson, and Ephraim Cross. 

Since that time the list of fire wards has always been full, and has 
included among its members the most substantial business men of 
the village, until the village was incorporated as a special fire pre- 
cinct, since which time a different organization has obtained. 

Under the old system the village managed to protect itself against 
fires with very good success for more than twent}- years. During 
the greater portion of that time a rotary hand engine was used with 
satisfactory results, as most of the houses were only one stor\\ or 
one and a half stories high, with very rarely a two-stor}- building. 
Under the directions of the fire wards a volunteer company did etti- 
cient service, in return for which they were exempt from dut\' on 
"muster days,"- jury duty, etc. 

About 1850 taller and more valuable buildings began to be 
erected, and a growing demand for more adequate fire protection 
resulted in the organization of a new fire company in accordance 
with the laws of the state, which had become much improved with 
respect to the matter of protecting property from fire. 

In 1853 the town voted an appropriation of S200 for the purchase 
of a fire engine, on condition that enough more be raised by sub- 
scription to make the purchase of a satisfactory engine. Xot until 
1857 was this measure carried out. At that time citizens had sub- 
scribed enough money to secure the best apparatus then in use. 
A committee consisting of David Burnside and Perr}- W. Pollard 
was appointed to make the purchase of the desired engine. They 
bought one for four hundred dollars, which was in use a long time. 
It was named the .E^tna. This engine gave ven»^ good satisfaction. 
In the following year, 1858, the old volunteer fire company gave 
place to one " organized according to law." This company was 
known as the " Lancaster Fire Engine company." Its organization 



524 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

was perfected March 27, 1858, by the adoption of a constitution 
and an elaborate set of by-laws for its government. There were 
forty-five members, with the following officers: ist foreman, David 
B.Allison; 2d foreman, Anderson J. Marshall; ist leading hose, 
Webster M. Rines; 2d leading hose, O. E. Freeman; ist suction 
hose. Perry W. Pollard; 2d suction hose, J. G. Derby; treasurer, 
Charles B. Allen; clerk, Henry O. Kent; board of directors, D. B. 
Allison, J. G. Derby, P. W. Pollard, Gilman Colby, W. W. Hatch. 

At the annual town-meeting in March, 1863, the town voted to 
adopt chapter 1 1 1 of the Revised Statutes, which defines the duties 
and authority of fire wards. At that time it was found that the 
water supply was insufficient to meet possible demands upon it, and 
a reservoir system was adopted and built by a committee consisting 
of R. P. Kent, Jared I. Williams, and E. B. Bennett. Towards this 
enterprise citizens subscribed the sum of three hundred dollars, the 
town meeting the rest of the expenses. This system was reasonably 
satisfactory for some years, until larger amounts of water were neces- 
sary to effectually fight fire. 

In 1865, at a special town-meeting, called January 18, the sum of 
one thousand dollars was voted for the purchase of a better fire en- 
gine. E. B. Bennett, E. R. Kent, and J. I.Williams were appointed 
a committee to make the purchase. They bought a second-hand one 
in Boston that had done duty at Lynn, Mass., for the sum of $891. 
This engine was named the Lafayette. It did good work in the 
hands of a trained company, and saved much valuable property to 
its owners, the town feeling a just pride in it. 

In 1878 the town appropriated the sum of eight hundred dollars 
for the purchase of a force pump, to be placed under the grist-mill, 
to fill the reservoirs in case of fires. This measure was not carried 
out until 1885, when it was attached to a hydrant system. 

In 1890 the town voted to pay any "company, corporation, or 
village precinct that will construct sufficient fire hydrants of fifty 
pounds pressure to the square inch, one thousand dollars." 

At a special meeting Oct. 6, 1891, the town voted to organize a 
fire precinct, "under chapter 107 of the General Laws of New Hamp- 
shire." The old fire company was retained in force as Lafayette 
Fire company. 

Since Sept. 7, 1891, the village fire precinct has been a distinct 
civil or municipal body, holding its own elections, and providing for 
its own government under the laws of the state. At an adjourned 
meeting, Oct. 6, 1891, a committee consisting of E. R. Kent, N. H. 
Richardson, J. L. Moore, W. E. Bullard, and V. V. Whitney, was 
appointed to confer with the Lancaster Water company, a corpora- 
ation then constructing a system of water-works in the village, as to 
the cost of a competent hydrant system, and the number and loca- 



THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 525 

tion of hydrants sufficient to serve the demands of the village for fire 
purposes. At another adjourned meeting, held October 20 of that 
year, this committee recommended an agreement with the Lancas- 
ter Water company, by which the company was to provide a 
system of water-works, with a reservoir of 2,000,000 gallons' ca- 
pacity, with a twelve-inch main to Middle street along Main street, 
with a pressure of not less than eighty pounds to the square inch, 
and fifty-eight hydrants, at an annual rental of thirty-five dollars per 
hydrant, and three water-cart hydrants free of cost, and also two 
streams of water for public water troughs, and to supply water to 
families for domestic use at eight dollars per year, provided that the 
precinct rent the hydrants for a period of five years. This company 
also agreed to sell its system to the precinct at anytime prior to 1897, 
at the cost of its construction with ten per-c'ent. bonus and interest 
at six per cent, on the cost of construction less the net earnings of 
the company. 

At that meeting this proposal was accepted by the precinct, and 
a board of fire wards was elected, consisting of E. R. Kent, W. E. 
Bullard, W. L. Rowell, J. L. Moore, and K. B. Fletcher, with in- 
structions to conclude the agreement recommended by the previous 
committee. 

This board organized by the election of the following officers : 
E. R. Kent, chief engineer; W. E. Bullard, W. L. Rowell, J. L. 
Moore, and K. B. Fletcher, assistant engineers. 

Three hose companies and one hook and ladder company were 
formed as follows : 

E. R. Kent Hose Company, No. i. — George Congdon, fore- 
man ; Fred. W. Streeter, assistant foreman; Thoma^ Powers and 
W. B. Wilson, hosemen ; W. E. Ingerson and C. A. Root, in charge 
of hydrants ; F. Smith and Fred Streeter, executive committee ; 
W. H. McCarten, secretary and treasurer. 

yEtna Hose Company, IVo. 2. — J. M. Monahan, foreman; M. 
McHugh, assistant foreman ; Thomas Sullivan, clerk and treasurer. 

Lafayette Hose Company, JVo. j. — L. B. Porter, foreman; H. 
S. Webb, assistant foreman; H. Bailey, A. Pierce, hosemen; H. H. 
Noyes, clerk and treasurer. 

A. M. Billiard Hook and Laddei' Company , No. ^. — L. H. 
Parker, foreman; F. D. Peabody, assistant foreman; H. A. Keir 
and C. W. Brown, executive committee ; B. M. Leavenworth, clerk ; 
Fred B. Spaulding, treasurer. 

A new and commodious fire department station was fitted up by 
Frank Smith & Co. in a building of theirs on Middle street, where 
the several companies have their headquarters, and the apparatus is 
stored. The second floor of the building affords a large hall in 
which companies hold their meetings. The first floor is devoted to 



526 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

the storage of trucks, hose carts, and other apphances. The build- 
ing has connected with it a tower for drying hose. Fire alarms 
are sounded upon a gong connected with the engines of Frank 
Smith & Co.'s mills and electric light plant.* 

One hose cart and hose is stationed on Main street, just above the 
Boston & Maine railroad crossing for use in emergencies in the north 
end of the village, while another hose cart and four hundred feet of 
hose are stored on Winter street for use in the Baker hill section of 
the village. 

All the apparatus is of the most improved kind, and the compa- 
nies are faithful in the use of it whenever danger calls them out. 
Few villages of its size has so good a fire protection. With its pres- 
ent organization, its boundless supply of water from the system 
which the precinct now owns, having purchased the water-works of 
the Lancaster Water company, property is in very little danger from 
fire. 

THE VETERAN FIREMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 

For more than fifty years Lancaster has had some kind of organ- 
ized fire protection. Nearly every man connected with the business 
interests of the village has, at times, belonged to some of those 
organizations. The surviving members of the several companies of 
the past and present organized a Veteran Firemen's Association 
at a meeting called for that purpose on June 4, 1896, with the fol- 
lowing list of oflficers : 

John G. Derby, president; Henry O. Kent, Frank Smith, Edward 
R. Kent, vice-presidents ; Loring B. Porter, secretary ; Erastus V. 
Cobleigh, treasurer ; W. H. Thompson, A. G.Wilson, L. H. Parker, 
M. Monahan, M. Vashon, directors; E. R. Kent, L. H. Parker, 
Vernon Smith, E. R. Stuart, committee on by-laws. 

The first fire engine was what was termed a rotar}^ engine. The 
water was poured into the tub by a line of men (and at fires, wo- 
men) leading to the place of supply, while another line, facing the 
first, passed back the empty buckets. The machine was worked by 
cranks, with polished iron arms extending, when in place, eight feet 
each side of the tub, and capable of engaging, perhaps, twenty men 
at a relief. 

The house of this engine was at the northwest corner of the inn 
yard of the Coos hotel, next beyond the coach shed and alongside 
the garden, about where the rear of the livery stable on Canal street 
now is. The original rotary engine was dismembered, the pump 
connected with the machinery of Williams's machine shop and set 

* A complete fire alarm system by districts was established in 1899, with about a dozen 
stations, the alarm bells being that upon the Congregational church and one placed 
upon the roof of the Masonic Temple or Town Hall building. 



THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 527 

in the basement as a force pump. It was destroyed by the fire that 
consumed that building. 

The yEtna, the strong but crude machine bought by David Burn- 
side and Perry W. Pollard in 1857 at St. Johnsbury, was housed 
temporarily in convenient sheds until the winter of that year, when 
Henry O. Kent and John G. Derby secured contributions of mate- 
rials, labor and a little money, and built the engine-house now in 
ruins, standing just east of the grist-mill. v^Itna engine had this until 
the Hunneman tub, "Lafayette," was purchased in 1864, when an 
engine-room and hall was finished off for the yEtna in rear of Frank 
Smith's block on Main street, where the north end of Eagle block 
now is, and which was burned in the great fire of 1878. ^tna was 
thereafter housed " under the arch," in comfortable quarters in the 
town hall building, until the era of the new fire department and erec- 
tion of the present commodious headquarters, when it was sent out 
to Grange Village, where it now is. "Lafayette" remains for special 
service ; but modern hydrants, hose companies, and hook and lad- 
der companies have supplanted the old firemen who " run wid der 
machine," or used the ponderous " fire hooks," of which a speci- 
men still exists at the old headquarters. 

The date of the organization of a fire department is from the erec- 
tion of the engine-house in 1888, and the establishing of quarters 
for two engines. From that date the fire wards, or their successors, 
the fire engineers, assumed command, placing engines and directing 
operations at fires. Edward R. Kent is easily the " Nestor " of the 
department, having served as fire ward and engineer for twenty-four 
years. 

PERSONS WHO HAVE HELD THE OFFICE OF FIRE WARDS SINCE 
1835, TO THE ADOPTION OF THE FIRE PRECINCT IN 1 892. 

1835. David Burnside, Warren Porter, Harvey Adams, Turner 
Stephenson, John Wilson, Royal Joyslin, Benjamin Stephenson, 
Ephraim Cross. 

1836. John Wilson, Warren Porter, Benjamin Stephenson, 
Ephraim Cross, Joseph C. Cady, Royal Joyslin, Harvey Adams, 
Levi F. Randlett. 

1837. David Burnside, Warren Porter, Benjamin Stephenson, 
John Wilson, Ephraim Cross, Harvey Adams, Apollos Perkins, 
John S. Wells. 

1838. Royal Joyslin, Harvey Adams, Joseph C. Cady, Benjamin 
Stephenson, Warren Porter, John Wilson, Ephraim Cross, Noyes 
S. Dennison. 

1839. John Wilson, John S. Wells, Benjamin Stephenson, War- 
ren Porter, Harvey Adams, David Burnside, Ephraim Cross, Royal 
Joyslin. 



528 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

1840. John S. Wells, John Wilson, Benjamin Stephenson, War- 
ren Porter, Harvey Adams, David Burnside, Ephraim Cross, Royal 
Joyslin. 

1 841. Amos Balch, Royal Joyslin, David Burnside, John Wil- 
son, Ephraim Cross, John S. Wells, Benjamin Stephenson, Warren 
Porter. 

1842. Warren Porter, Ephraim Cross, Harvey Adams, David 
Burnside, John Wilson, Royal Joyslin, Joseph C. Cady, John S. 
Wells. 

1843. Joseph C. Cady, Ephraim Cross, John Wilson, David 
Burnside, Harvey Adams, Benjamin Stephenson, John S. Wells, 
Warren Porter. 

1844. Warren Porter, John S. Wells, Ephraim Cross, Samuel 
Rines, Oliver W. Baker, David Burnside, Richard P. Kent, Reuben 
Stephenson, Harvey Adams. 

1845. Ephraim Cross, Joseph C. Cady, Harvey Adams, James 
H. Hall, Royal Joyslin, Warren Porter, Samuel Rines. 

1846. Harvey Adams, Joseph C. Cady, Reuben Stephenson, 
Ephraim Cross, Royal Joyslin, George F. Hartwell, James W. 
Weeks. 

1847. Ephraim Cross, Harvey Adams, Reuben Stephenson, 
Albro L. Robinson, Royal Joyslin, George F. Hartwell, James W. 
Weeks. 

1848. Ephraim Cross, Harvey Adams, Joseph C. Cady, Samuel 
Rines, Hazen C. Walker, Charles B. Allen, Jacob Benton, Charles 
S. Palmer. 

1849. Harvey Adams, Jonathan Hovey, Lucius M. Rosebrooks, 
Jacob Benton, Richard P. Kent. 

1850. Jonathan Hovey, Lucius M. Rosebrooks, Jacob Benton, 
Richard P. Kent. 

185 1. John Lindsey, Webster M. Rines, Edwin F. Eastman, 
William Burns, Reuben Stephenson, Hosea Gray, George C. Wil- 
liams. 

1852. John Lindsey, Harvey Adams, John W. Lovejoy, Horace 
F. Holton, George C. Williams. 

1853. Anderson J. Marshall, David Burnside, John Lindsey, 
Royal Joyslin, Hazen C. Walker, Turner Stephenson. 

1854. Richard P.Kent, John W. Lovejoy, Horace F. Holton, 
William Burns, Robert Sawyer, Frederick Fisk. 

1855. Perry W. Pollard, Webster M. Rines, Robert Sawyer, 
Richard P. Kent, David Burnside, James A. Smith. 

1856. John G. Derby, Richard P. Kent, John Lindsey, Enoch 
L. Colby, George Bellows, Frederick Fisk, George C. Williams. 

1857. Jacob Benton, David Burnside, Samuel Rines, Richard P. 
Kent, John Lindsey, Perry W. Pollard. It seems that the $200 



THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 529 

that was voted by the town in 1853, had laid in the hands of the 
selectmen. This year by a vote of the town it was paid over to 
the Engine Co. 

1858. Henry O. Kent, Anderson J. Marshall, George A. Cos- 
sitt, David Burnside, John Lindsey, Ephraim Cross, John G. Derby, 
Richard P. Kent. 

1859. Henry O. Kent, Anderson J. Marshall, David A. Burn- 
side, John Lindsey, Charles B. Allen, John G. Derby, Richard P. 
Kent. 

i860. Richard P. Kent, Anderson J. Marshall, David A. Burn- 
side, John Lindsey, Jared L Williams, Harvey Adams, Hartford 
Sweet, John H. Hopkinson. 

1861. Anderson J. Marshall, John H. Hopkinson, George A. 
Cossitt, Hartford Sweet, Oliver Nutter, Enoch L. Colby, John. Lind- 
sey, Kimball B. Fletcher. 

1862. Anderson J. Marshall, John H. Hopkinson, George A. 
Cossitt, Hartford Sweet, Oliver Nutter, Enoch L. Colby, Kimball B. 
Fletcher. 

1863. Anderson J. Marshall, John H. Hopkinson, George A. 
Cossitt, David A. Burnside, John Lindsey, Ephraim Cross, John G. 
Derby, Richard P. Kent. 

1864. John H. Hopkinson, Anderson J. Marshall, George A. 
Cossitt, Hosea Grey, Hartford Sweet, Enoch L. Colby. 

1865. Anderson J. Marshall, John H. Hopkinson, George A. 
Cossitt, Hosea Grey, Hartford Sweet, Enoch L. Colby, Frank 
Smith. 

1866. Anderson J. Marshall, George A. Cossitt, Hartford Sweet, 
Henry O. Kent, Enoch L. Colby, Hosea Grey, John H. Hopkinson, 
Kimball B. Fletcher. 

1867. Henry O. Kent, Enoch L. Colby, Hosea Grey, John H. 
Hopkinson, Kimball B. Fletcher, Hartford Sweet, George A. Cos- 
sitt, Anderson J. Marshall. 

1868. Henry O. Kent, Enoch L. Colby, Hosea Grey, John H. 
Hopkinson, Kimball B. Fletcher, Hartford Sweet, George A. Cos- 
sitt, Anderson J. Marshall. 

1869. Henry O. Kent, Charles W. Smith, Ariel M. Bullard, 
Anderson J. Marshall, George A. Cossitt, Daniel Thompson, Kim- 
ball B. Fletcher, Orville E. Freeman, John H. Hopkinson. 

1870. Henry O. Kent, George A. Cossitt, Anderson J. Mar- 
shall, Orville E. Freeman, Charles W. Smith, Edmund Brown, John 
H. Hopkinson. 

1 87 1. Henry O. Kent, Anderson J. Marshall, George A. Cos- 
sitt, Charles W. Smith, John H. Hopkinson, Kimball B. Fletcher, 
Hosea Grey. 

1872. Charles W. Smith, Henry Porter, Frank Smith, Erastus 
34 



530 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

V. Cobleigh, Charles E. Allen, George H. Emerson, Edward R. 
Kent. 

1873. Charles W. Smith, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Edward R. Kent, 
Charles E. Allen, Henry H. Porter, Frank Smith, George H. Emer- 
son. 

1874. Erastus V. Cobleigh, Edward R. Kent, Charles E. Allen, 
Henry H. Porter, Frank Smith, George H. Emerson, Ariel M. 
Billiard. 

1875. William L. Rowell, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Edward R. 
Kent, Charles E. Allen, Henry H. Porter, Frank Smith, Ariel M. 
Bullard. 

1876. Erastus V. Cobleigh, Horace R. Porter, Charles E. Allen, 
John G. Derby, Edward R. Kent, James Monahan. 

1877. Erastus V. Cobleigh, Edward R. Kent, Ariel M. Bullard, 
John G. Derby, Charles E. Allen, James Monahan, William L. 
Rowell. 

1878. Erastus V. Cobleigh, Edward R. Kent, Ariel M. Bullard, 
John G. Derby, Charles E. Allen, James Monahan, William L. 
Rowell, Frank Smith. 

1879. Edward R. Kent, Ariel M. Bullard, Erastus V. Cobleigh, 
John G. Derby, Charles E. Allen, James Monahan, William L. 
Rowell, Frank Smith. 

1880. Edward R. Kent, Ariel M. Bullard, Erastus V. Cobleigh, 
John G. Derby, Charles E. Allen, James Monahan, William L. 
Rowell, Frank Smith. 

1 88 1. Edward R. Kent, Charles L. Griswold, Erastus V. Cob- 
leigh, Ariel M. Bullard, Charles E. Allen, John G. Derby, James 
Monahan, Frank Smith. 

1882. Edward R. Kent, Charles E. Allen, Charles L. Griswold, 
Frank Smith, James Monahan, Erastus V. Cobleigh, John G. Derby, 
Ira E. Woodward. 

1883. Edward R Kent, Ira E. Woodward, Charles E. Allen, 
Charles L. Griswold, Frank Smith, Erastus V. Cobleigh, James 
Monahan, John G. Derby, Ivan W. Quimby. 

1884. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Charles E. Allen, 
James Monahan, William L. Rowell, John G. Derby, F'rank Smith, 
Ira E. Woodward, Ivan W. Quimby. 

1885. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, William L. 
Rowell, Charles E. Allen, Frank Smith, James Monahan, John G. 
Derby, Ira E. Woodward, Ivan W. Quimby. 

1886. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, William L. Rowell, 
Frank Smith, Charles E. Allen, Nathaniel H. Richardson, Robert 
McCarten, Ira E. Woodward, William A. Folsom. 

1887. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Fielding Smith, 
Robert McCarten, Charles E. Allen, John G. Derby, Charles A. 
Howe, Ira E. Woodward. 



THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 53 1 

1888. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Fielding Smith, 
Robert McCarten, Charles A. Howe, Willie E. Bullard, Isaac W. 
Hopkinson, Kimball B. Fletcher, Jr. 

1889. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Fielding Smith, 
John G. Derby, Charles A. Howe, Horace F. Whitcomb, Kimball 
B. Fletcher, Jr., WilHe E. Bullard. 

1890. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Fielding Smith, 
Charles A. Howe, John G. Derby, Horace F. Whitcomb, Kimball 
B. Fletcher, Jr., WilHe E. Bullard. 

1 89 1. Edward R. Kent, Erastus V. Cobleigh, John G. Derby, 
Charles A. Howe, KimbaU B. Fletcher, WilHe E. Bullard, Virgil V. 
Whitney. 

At the first annual meeting of the fire precinct March i, 1892, it 
was voted that the officers elected be called engineers instead of fire 
wards. The first board of fire engineers were : E. R. Kent, W. E. 
Bullard, J. L. Moore, K. B. Fletcher, and W. L. Rowell. 

1893. The same reelected. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 

The Names of Citizens of Lanxaster who Have Held National, State, 
County, and Town Offices. 

Senator in Congress. 

Jared W. Williams, U. S. Senate (appointed to fill vacancy), 

i853-'55- 

Representatives in Congress. 

John W. Weeks, 1829-33. 
Jared W. Williams, 1837-41. 
Jacob Benton, 1867— '71. 
Ossian Ray, 1880-84. 

Governor. 

Jared W. WilHams, 1847-48. 

Councilor. 
John H. White, 1839-42. 

Presidential Electors. 

William Lovejoy, Republican, 1828. 
John W. Weeks, Democrat, 1840. 



532 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

John H. White, Free Soil, 1848; RepubHcan, 1856. 
Henry O. Kent, Repubhcan, 1864. 
Benjamin F. Whidden, RepubHcan, 1872. 

Fede7'al Aff ointments. "^ 

Benjamin F. Whidden, minister to Hayti, 1862-65. 
James M. Rix, government printing-office, 1853. 
Jacob Benton, inspector of customs, 1849. 
Ephraim Cross, inspector of customs, 1845. 
Henry O. Kent, postmaster U. S. Senate, i863-'64. 
Henry O. Kent, naval officer, port of Boston, i885-'90. 
George H. Emerson, clerk interior department and customs 
inspector, 1863. 

Delegates to JVational Political Conventions. 

Jared W. Williams, Democratic convention, Baltimore, Md., 1832.- 

James M. Rix, Democratic convention, Cincinnati, O. (alternate 
for Robert Ingalls of Shelburne, and attended in his place). 

John H. White, Republican convention, Philadelphia, Pa., 1856. 

Jacob Benton, Republican convention, Chicago, 111., i860. 

Henry O. Kent, alternate delegate at large, Republican conven- 
tion, Chicago, 111., i860; attended. 

William Burns, Democratic, Charleston, S. C, and Baltimore, 
Md., i860. 

Jared W. Williams, Democratic, Chicago, 111., 1864. 

Enoch L. Colby, Republican, Baltimore, Md., 1864. 

Ossian Ray, Republican convention, Philadelphia, Pa., 1872. 

Henry O Kent, Liberal Republican convention at Cincinnati, 
1872. 

B. F. Whidden, Republican convention, Cincinnati, O., 1876. 

Irving W. Drew, Democratic convention, Cincinnati. O., 1880. 

Henry O. Kent, Democratic convention, Chicago, 111., 1884. 

William S. Ladd, Democratic convention, St. Louis, Mo., 1888. 

Irving W. Drew, Democratic convention, Chicago, 111., 1892 and 
1896. 

State Senators. 

John W. Weeks, 1826-29. 
Jared W. Williams, i832-'35. 
^ Ephraim Cross, 1844-46. 
James M. Rix, 1852-54. 
William Burns, 1856-58. 
John W. Barney, 1868-70. 
Irving W. Drew, 1883-85. 
Henry O. Kent, 1885-87. 
Chester B. Jordan, 1897-99. 



THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 533 

Presidents of the State Senate. 

Jared W. Williams, 1833-34. 
James M. Rix, 1853. 
Chester B. Jordan, 1897. 

Clei'k of the Senate. 
G. C. Williams, 1853-54. 

Clerks of the House. 

Henry O. Kent, 1855-59. 
Josiah H. Benton, Jr., 1870. 

Speakers of the House. 

John S. Wells, 1841. 
Chester B. Jordan, 1881. 

3Ie?nbers of Constitutional Conventions. 

David Page, 1781. 

John Weeks, 1788, convention to ratify the constitution of the 
United States. 

William Cargill, 1791. 
John H. White, 1850. 
Jacob Benton, 1876. 
William Burns, 1876. 
William S. Ladd, 1889. 
WilHam H. Smith, 1889. 

y list ice of Supreme fudicial Court. 
William S. Ladd, 1870-74. 

Justice of Superior Court of fudicature. 
William S. Ladd, 1874-76. 

Justices of Court of Common Pleas. 

Richard C. Everett, 1813-15. 
Richard Eastman, i84i-'48. 

Reporter of the Suprejne Court. 
William S. Ladd, 1883-91. 

Judges of Probate. 

Benjamin Hunking, 1829—52. 
Jared W. Williams, 1852-53. 



534 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

James W. Weeks, 1853-55. 
Turner Stephenson, 1855-68. 
Benjamin F. Whidden, i868-'74- 
William D. Weeks, 1876-85. 
Everett Fletcher, 1885-95. 

Clerks of Courts. 

Jonas Baker, court of common pleas, 1804— '10. 

Adino N. Brackett, court of common pleas and superior court of 
judicature, 1810-37. 

William Farrar, court of common pleas, i837-'39. 

James M. Rix, court of common pleas, 1839-56; supreme judi- 
cial court, 1847-56. 

Daniel C. Pinkham, court of common pleas and supreme judicial, 
1856-68. 

Chester B. Jordan, supreme judicial court, 1868—74. 

Moses A. Hastings, superior court, 1874-76; and supreme judi- 
cial, 1 876-. 

Registers of Probate. 

William Lovejoy, 1822-29. George H. Emerson, 1875-77. 

Jared W. WiUiams, 1829-37. Charles B. Allen, 1877-80. 

George A. Cossitt, 1837-52. George H. Emerson, 1880-86. 

John W. Barney, 1852-55. Joseph W. Flanders, 1886-95. 

Albro L. Robinson, 1855-60. Fielding Smith, 1895-97. 

John M. Whipple, 1860-75. Burleigh Roberts, 1897- 

ON STATE COMMISSIONS. 
To Adjust Eastern Boundary of State. 
John W. Weeks, 1828. Henry O. Kent, 1858. 

To Survey and Allot Public Lands. 

Ephraim Cross, 1844. John M. Whipple, 1858. 

George C. Williams, 1858. 

Bank Commissioners. 

Jas.M. Rix, 1843-46; 1848-54. Henry O. Kent, 1866-69. 

On Construction of State Library. 
Irving W. Drew, 1894. 

On Construction of JVezv Prison. 
John W. Barney, 1874. 



THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 



535 



Fish and Game Commissions. 

William H. Shurtleff, 1892. 
School Commissioner for Cods. 

Francis Laban Towne, 1858. 

State Board of Agricidttire. 

Barton G. Towne, 1871. Joseph D. Howe, 1893. 

Horace F. Holton, 1873, James W. Weeks. 

High Sheriffs. 

Levi Willard, 1805-12. Enoch L. Colby, 1857-67. 

Lemuel Adams, 1816-20. Samuel H. LeGro, 1872-77. 

John W. Weeks, i820-'25. George M. Stevens, 1887-93. 

John H. White, 1830-39. John T. Amey, 1893-95. 

Reuben Stephenson, i849-'5 5. Thomas C. Beattie, 1895-. 

County Commissioners. 

George R. Eaton, 1879-83. 



Andrew J. Congdon, i867-'70. 
James W. Weeks, 1873-76. 



Solicitors. 



Abraham Hinds, 1807. 
William Farrar, 1816-21. 
Jared W. Williams, 1821-38. 
John S. Wells, 1838-47. 
Saunders W. Cooper, i847-'49. 
William Burns, i849-'53. 



George C. Williams, i853-'56. 
Benjamin F. Whidden, i856-'63, 
Ossian Ray, 1863-73. 
Henry Heywood, i875-'77. 
William S.'Ladd, 1879-80. 



Abraham Hinds. 

Asa W^ Burnap. 

Wjlliam Farrar 

John M. Dennison. 

Reuben Stephenson, i830-'39. 

John W. Lovejoy, 1839-49. 

John S. Roby, 1849-55. 

Ira S. M. Gove, 1855-61. 



Registers of Deeds. 

Hezekiah B. Parsons, 1 861— '66. 
Benjamin F. Hunking, 1866—71. 
Charles W. Smith, 1871-76. 
Joseph W. Flanders, 1876-82. 
Charles A. Cleaveland, 1882-87. 
James M. Rowell. 1887-93. 
Charles E. Mclntire, 1893-95. 
Henry S. Hilliard, 1895-. 



County Treasurers 

John W. Weeks. 

Richard Eastman. 

George A. Cossitt, 1865-67. 



James M. Rowell, 1879-83. 
George R. Eaton, 1885-91. 
William H. McCarten, 1894-. 



536 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Rep7'esentaiives to the General Court* 

Jonas Wilder, Jr., 1793. 

Jonathan Cram, 1795. 

Richard C. Everett, 1796-97; 1799-1802. 

WilHam Lovejoy, 1803-11. 

Adino N. Brackett, i8i3-'i'7. 

Richard Eastman, 18 18. 

Adino N. Brackett, 18 19. 

Richard Eastman, 1820. 

Adino N. Brackett, 1821-22. 

John Wilson, 1823-25. 

Richard Eastman, 1826-27. 

Adino N. Brackett, 1828. 

Richard Eastman, 1829. 

Jared W. Williams, 1830-31. 

Richard Eastman, 1832-34. 

Jared W. Williams, 1835-36. 

Adino N. Brackett, 1837. 

Richard Eastman, 1838. 

John S. Wells, 1839-42. 

In 1843 voted not to send. 

William D. Weeks, 1844. 

Harvey Adams, 1845-46. 

James M. Rix, 1847-48. 

Benjamin F. Whidden, 1849-50. 

In 1 85 I voted not to send. 

George A. Cossitt, 1852. 

Royal Joyslin, 1853. 

Jacob Benton, 1854. 

Jacob Benton, Edmund Brown, 1855-56. 

John M. Whipple, Jacob E. Stickney, 1857-58. 

George C. Williams, Seth Savage, 1859-60. 

In 1 86 1 voted not to send. 

Moody P. Marshall, Henry O. Kent, 1862. 

Moody P. Marshall, Samuel H. LeGro, 1863. 

Samuel H. LeGro, James D. Folsom, 1864. 

William F. Smith, Edward Spaulding, 1865. 

In 1866 voted not to send. 

Benjamin F. Whidden, Charles Plaisted, 1867. 

Henry O. Kent, Ossian Ray, i868-'69. 

In 1870 voted not to send. 

Benjamin F. Hunking, James LeGro, 1871. 

♦Lancaster was a classed town from 1775 to 1S17, after which the town had its own 
representatives. 



THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 



537 



John W. Spaulding, Seneca B. Congdon, 1872-73. 
George S. Stockwell, Edward Savage, 1874. 
John E. Dimick, James McCarten, 1875-76. 
George S. Stockwell, Francis Kellum, 1877— '79. 
Jared I. Williams, William Clough, 1879-80.* 
Chester B. Jordan, James Monahan, i88i-'82. 
Henry O. Kent, William S. Ladd, 1882-84. 
Frank Smith, Matthew Monahan, 1884-86. 
Charles A. Cleaveland, Robert McCarten, 1886-88. 
John M. Clark, Matthew Smith, 1888-90. 
Joseph D. Howe, George Farnham, Patrick Small, i890-'92. 
Alexander M. Beattie, WilHe E. Bullard, Gilbert A. Marshall, 
1892-94. 

William R. Stockwell, John L. Moore, James W. Truland, 1894- 

'95- 

George W. Lane, George A. Hartford, James A. Monahan, 
1896-98. 

County Coroners. 



W. Rosebrook, 1806. 
Benjamin Boardman, 1817. 
William Farrar, 1818. 
Ephraim H. Mahurin, 18 18. 
Benjamin Boardman, i8i'8. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1828. 
Benjamin Boardman, 1828. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1836. 
Benjamin Stephenson, 1840. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1841. 



Benjamin Stephenson, 1843. 
Oliver G. Stephenson, 1852. 
Amos LeGro, 1852. 
Oliver G. Stephenson, 1857. 
Anderson J. Marshall, 1859. 
Ira S. M. Gove, 1865. 
E. V. Cobleigh, 1884-91. 
Charles E. Allen, 1891-96. 
E. V. Cobleigh, 1896. 



J. M. Dennison, 1807. 
A. W. Burnap, 1808. 
Orrace Wallace, 181 1. 
Jonathan Carleton. 
Reuben Stephenson, 18 14 
E. H. Mahurin, 1818. 
Noyes Dennison, 1820. 
William Dennison, 1822. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1825 
Francis Wilson, 1826. 
Charles Bellows, 1826. 
John H. Willard, 1830. 



Deputy Sheriffs. 

Thomas Carlisle, 1831. 
Benjamin Stephenson, 1834. 
John Dean, 1836. 
William Cargill, 1838. 
Ephraim Cross, 1838. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1839. 
Noyes Dennison, 1840. 
Ephraim Cross, 1840. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1840. 
Benjamin H. Chadborne, 1844. 
Reuben Stephenson, 1847. 
Ephraim Cross, 1850. 



*Under the amended constitution the election of representatives occurs biennially, 
and offices hold for two years ; since 1878. 



538 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



James H. Hall, 185 i. 
Oliver G. Stephenson, 1851. 
Ephraim Cross, 1854. 
W. S. Clark, 1857. 
Seth Adams, 1859. 
William Cargill, 1859. 
Ira S. M. Gove, 1863. 
Joseph S. Green, 1864. 
Charles F. Colby, 1866. 
Enoch L. Colby, 1867. 
William W. Lindsey, 1870. 
George S. Stockwell, 1872. 



William W. Lindsey, 1873. 
Leroy S. Stalbird, 1873. 
Freedom M. Rhodes, 1875. 
Benjamin F. Hunking, 1875. 
Leroy S. Stalbird, 1877. 
George M. Stevens, 1877. 
George M. Stevens, 1882. 
Richard Fletcher, 1886. 
George M. Stevens, 1886. 
Richard Fletcher, 1887. 
Geo. M. Stevens, 1887; 1892-93, 
Edgar Ingerson, 1893- • 



Moderators. 



Capt. Thomas Burnside, 1769.* 
David Cross, 1773. 
David Page, 1774-79. 
Jonas Wilder, 1780-82. 
David Page, 1783. 
Jonas Wilder, 1784. 
Emmons Stockwell, 1785. 
David G. Mason, 1786. 
Jonas Wilder, 1787-88. 
John Weeks, 1789. 
Jonas Wilder, 1790-92. 
John Weeks, 1793-99. 
Jonas Baker, 1800. 
John Weeks, 1801-02. 
Bryant Stephenson, 1803. 
Capt. John W. Weeks, 1804-05. 
Richard C. Everett, 1806. 
Stephen Wilson, 1807. 
Richard C. Everett, 1808. 
Bryant Stephenson, i8o9-'io. 
Stephen Wilson, 181 1. 
William Lovejoy, 18 12. 
Richard C. Everett, 18 13. 
Stephen Wilson, 18 14. 
Richard Eastman, 18 15. 
Adino N. Brackett, 18 16- 18. 
John W. Weeks, 1819-20. 
Adino N. Brackett, 1821. 



John W. Weeks, 1822. 
Eliphalet Lyman, 1823. 
John W. Weeks, i824-'2 5. 
Adino N. Brackett, 1826. 
Eliphalet Lyman, 1827-28. 
John W. Weeks, 1829. 
Richard Eastman, 1830-31. 
John W. Weeks, 1832-34. 
Richard Eastman, i835-'36. 
Eliphalet Lyman, 1837. 
Richard Eastman, 1838. 
Jared W. Williams, 1839. 
John H. White, 1840-41. 
Jared W. Williams, 1842. 
Gen. Ira Young, 1843-44. 
John H.White, 1845. 
George A. Cossitt, i846-'49. 
James W. Weeks, 1850. 
George A. Cossitt, i85i-'52. 
Jacob Benton, 1833-56. 
Benjamin F. Whidden, 1857-58. 
Henry O. Kent, 1859. 
Jacob Benton, i860. 
George C. Williams, 1861-62. 
Henry O. Kent, 1863-65. 
Benjamin F. Whidden, 1866. 
Henry O. Kent, 1867. 
Jacob Benton, 1868. 



* The Proprietors Records being lost from 1765 to 1769, it is not possible to give the 
names of the moderators during that period. 



-7" 



THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 



539 



Henry O. Kent, 1869-72. 
Chester B. Jordan, 1872-73. 
Henry O. Kent, 1 874-75 • 
Chester B. Jordan, 1876. 
Henry O. Kent, 1877-80. 
Chester B. Jordan, 1881. 



Henry O. Kent, 1883-85. 
Irving W. Drew, 1886-88. 
Chester B. Jordan, 1889-90. 
Henry O. Kent, 1891-94. 
WiUiam P. Buckley, 1895- 



Tozun Clerks. 



Edwards Bucknam, 1769— '89. 
Samuel Johnson, 1790. 
Jonas Baker, 1791-96. 
Isaac Chaffee, 1796-1800. 
William Lovejoy, 1801-07. 
Briant Stephenson, i8o8-'o9. 
William Lovejoy, 1809-16. 
John Wilson, 18 17. 
William Lovejoy, i8i8-'2 2. 
John Wilson, 1823-25. 
George Wait Perkins, i826-'27 
Turner Stephenson, 1828. 
Thomas Carlisle, 1829—31. 
Thomas Dennison, 1832-36. 
John W. Lovejoy, 1837. 



Reuben L. Adams, i837-'45. 
John S. Roby, 1845-49. 
Reuben L. Adams, 1849-57. 
David B. Allison, 1857-59. 
Reuben L. Adams, 1859-64. 
Charles E. Allen, 1864-66. 
Edward Savage, 1866-76. 
Charles E. Mclntire, 1877. 
John G. Crawford, 1^78. 
George H. Emerson, 1879. 
Charles E. Mclntire, 1879-81. 
Charles B. Allen, 1881. 
Charles E. Mclntire, 1882-86. 
Charles B. Allen, 1887-88. 
RolHn J. Brown, 1889-. 



Selectmen. 

1769. David Page, Abner Osgood, George Wheeler, Emmons 

Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam. 

1770. David Page, Edwards Bucknam, Emmons Stockwell. « 

1 77 1. David Page, Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam. 

1772. David Page, Emmons Stockwell, David Cross. 

1773. David Page, Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam. 

1774. David Page, David Cross, David Page, Jr. 

1775. David Page, Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam. 

1776. David Page, Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam. 

1777. Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam, Moses Page. 

1778. Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam, David Page, Jr. 

1779. Jonas Wilder, Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam. 

1780. Edwards Bucknam, Jonas Wilder. Emmons Stockwell. 

1781. Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, Emmons Stockwell. 

1782. Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, Emmons Stockwell. 

1783. Edwards Bucknam, Jonas Wilder, Emmons Stockwell. 

1784. Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, Emmons Stockwell. 

1785. Edwards Bucknam, Jonas Wilder, David Page. 

1786. Edwards Bucknam, David Page, Emmons Stockwell. 



540 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

1787. Edwards Bucknam, Jonas Wilder, Samuel Johnson. 

1788. Jonas Wilder, Edwards Bucknam, Emmons Stockwell, 

Samuel Johnson, Jonas Baker. 

1789. Edwards Bucknam, John Weeks, Jonas Wilder. 

1790. Edwards Bucknam, Emmons Stockwell, Francis Wilson. 

791. Emmons Stockwell, Edwards Bucknam, Francis Wilson. 

792. Emmons Stockwell, John Weeks, Jeremiah W^ilcox. 

793. John Weeks, Jonathan Cram, Jeremiah Wilcox. 

794. Jonathan Cram, John Rosebrook, Titus O. Brown. 

795. John Rosebrook, David Page, Dennis Stanley. 

796. John Rosebrook, David Page, Dennis Stanley. 

797. Richard C. Everett, Titus O. Brown, Nathaniel White. 

798. Stephen Wilson, Nathaniel White, Titus O. Brown. 

799. Stephen Wilson, Nathaniel White, Titus O. Brown. 

800. David Page, Joseph Wilder, Levi Willard. 

801. David Page, Benjamin Twombley, Jr., William Bruce. 

802. William Bruce, Adino N. Brackett, Sylvanus Chessman. 

803. Adino N. Brackett, Elias Chapman, Levi Willard. 

804. Adino N. Brackett, Richard Eastman, Elias Chapman. 

805. Adino N. Brackett, Richard Eastman, Elias Chapman. 

806. Adino N. Brackett, Richard Eastman, Nathaniel White. 

807. Adino N. Brackett, Nathaniel White, Richard Eastman. 

808. Adino N. Brackett, John W. Weeks, Benjamin Boardman. 

809. Adino N. Brackett, Richard Eastman, Jonas Baker. 

810. Richard Eastman, John W. Weeks, Uriel Rosebrook. 

811. Richard Eastman, John W. Weeks. 

812. Richard Eastman, Ebenezer Twombly, Stephen Wilson. 
-813. Richard Eastman, Benjamin Boardman, Reuben W. Freeman. 

8«4. Stephen Wilson, Abiel Lovejoy, Richard Eastman. 

815. Adino N. Brackett, Abiel Lovejoy, Richard Eastman. 

:8i6. Richard Eastman, William Lovejoy, John Aspenwall. 

817. Adino N. Brackett, John W. Weeks, William Lovejoy. 

818. Adino N. Brackett, John W. Weeks, William Lovejoy. 

819. Adino N. Brackett, Richard Eastman, John W. Weeks. 

820. Adino N. Brackett, John W. Weeks, Richard Eastman. 

821. Richard Eastman, Sylvanus Chessman, Joel Hemmenway. 

822. Richard Eastman, John W. Weeks, Joel Hemmenway. 

823. John W. Weeks, William Lovejoy, Joel Hemmenway. 

824. John W. Weeks, William Lovejoy, Nathaniel Goss. 

825. John W. Weeks, Nathaniel Goss, Samuel White. 

826. Richard Eastman, Ephraim Cross, Nathaniel Goss. 

827. Nathaniel Goss, John H. White, Ephraim Cross. 

828. William Lovejoy, Edward B. Spaulding, Benjamin Stephen- 

son. 

1829. Ephraim Cross, Richard Eastman, John H. White. 



THE CIVIL LIST OF LANCASTER. 541 

830. John H. White, Reuben Stephenson, James B. Weeks. 

831. Richard Eastman, Reuben Stephenson, Ephraim Cross. 

832. Reuben Stephenson, Amos LeGro, John Smith. 

833. John H. White, Adino N. Brackett, Richard Eastman. 

834. John W. Weeks, Abiel Lovejoy, Reuben Stephenson. 

835. Reuben Stephenson, John H. White, EHjah D. Twombley. 

836. Reuben Stephenson, EHjah Twombley, Harvey Adams. 

837. Solomon Hemmenway, Reuben Stephenson, Harvey Adams. 

838. John H. White, Harvey Adams, William Holkins. 

839. Reuben Stephenson, Harvey Adams, Barton G. Towne. 

: 840. Reuben Stephenson, William D. Spaulding, Barton G. Towne. 

841. William D. Spaulding, Barton G. Towne, Richard Eastman. 

842. Reuben Stephenson, William Lovejoy, William Holkins. 

843. Reuben Stephenson, John W. Hodgdon, William Lovejoy. 

844. Adino N. Brackett, Samuel Mclntire, John W. Hodgdon. 

845. Barton G. Towne, Samuel Mclntire, James W. Weeks. 

846. Reuben Stephenson, James Marden, Edward B. Mclntire. 

847. Reuben Stephenson, James Marden, Edward B. Mclntire. 

848. James W. VVeeks, Edward B. Mclntire, Barton G. Towne. 

849. Reuben L. Adams. William R. Stockwell, James Mclntire. 

850. John H. White, John W. Hodgdon, Joseph B. Moore. 

851. George Alexander, William R. Stockwell, Joseph B. Moore. 

852. Seth Sav^age, Silas Mclntire, Hiram Twitchell. 

853. Seth Savage, William S. Clark, John W^ Hodgdon. 

854. Seth Savage, James LeGro, William S. Clark (until August), 
William R. Stockwell (from August 26). 

855. Seth Savage, James LeGro, Seth Adams. 

:-856. Charles Plaisted, William A. White, Seth Adams. 

857. Charles Plaisted, William A. White, Fenner M. Rhodes. 

858. Fenner M. Rhodes, William D. Weeks, Hiram Savage. 

859. William D. Weeks, Hiram Savage, Samuel H. LeGro. 

860. Samuel H. LeGro, William F. Smith, Charles B. Allen. 

861. William F. Smith, Charles B. Allen, James W. Weeks. 

862. Samuel H. LeGro, Edward Spaulding, Horace F. Holton. 

863. Edward Spaulding, Horace F. Holton, Horace Whitcomb. 

864. Seth Savage, Joseph B. Moore, Fielding Smith. 

865. Samuel H. LeGro, Jason W. Savage, Charles B. Allen. 

866. Samuel H. LeGro, James W. Weeks, Charles B. Allen. 

867. Samuel H. LeGro, James W. Weeks, Charles B. Allen. 

868. Samuel H. LeGro, Charles B. Allen, Jason W. Savage. 

869. Samuel H. LeGro, James W. Weeks, Charles B. Allen. 

870. Samuel H. LeGro, James W. Weeks, Hiram Savage. 

871. Samuel H. LeGro, James W. Weeks, Hiram Savage. 

872. Seth Savage, Charles S. Hodgdon, William J. Harriman. 

873. Seth Savage, Barton G. Towne, Edward Emerson. 



542 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



874 

876 

877 
878 

879 
880 

881 



883 

884 
885 

886 
887 
888 
889 
890 
891 
892 
893 
894 
895 

896 

897 
898 



William Clough, Francis Kellum, Edward Emerson. 
Seth Savage, Barton G. Tovvne, Philip Hartley. 
Seth Savage, Philip Hartley, Thomas S. Ellis. 
Samuel H. LeGro, Roswell W. Chessman, John Daley. 
Samuel H. LeGro, Roswell W. Chessman, John Daley. 
Samuel H. LeGro, Roswell W. Chessman, John Daley. 
Roswell W. Chessman, Edward Spaulding, Isaac W. Hop- 

kinson. 
Edward Spaulding, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Sylvanus R. 

Chessman. 
Edward Spaulding, Erastus V. Cobleigh, Jonas Powers. 
Samuel H. LeGro, John M. Clark, Daniel Truland. 
Samuel H. LeGro, John M. Clark, Daniel Truland. 
Samuel H. LeGro, James Bain, Charles C. Noyes. 
Samuel H. Legro, James Bain, Charles C. Noyes. 
Edward Spaulding, H. J. Guernsey, Willie E. Bullard. 
Frank Smith, Joseph D. Howe, Thomas C. Sheridan. 
Edward Spaulding, Henry S. Hilliard, Jonas Powers. 
Edward Spaulding, Jonas Powers, Richard H. Chessman. 
Charles A. Cleaveland, Thomas S. Ellis, Alvin J. Clark. 
Edward Spaulding, Henry S. Webb, George A. Cummings. 
Joseph D. Howe, Loring B. Porter, William R. Stockwell. 
Richard H. Chessman, William H. Hartley, Thomas S. Ellis. 
Richard H. Chessman (until June), William H. Hartley, 

Thomas S. Ellis, Willie E. Bullard (from June). 
William H. Hartley, Joseph D. Howe, Gilbert A. Marshall. 
Edward Spaulding, Gilbert A. Marshall, Fred S. Linscott. 
George M. Amadon, Frank Smith, Fred S. Linscott. 

Postmaslers . 



Stephen Wilson, Jr., 1803-08. 
Abraham Hinds, 1808-12. 
Samuel A. Pearson, 1812-29. 
Benjamin Hunking, 1829-42. 
Reuben L. Adams, 1842-50. 
Robert Sawyer, 1850-53. 
Harvey Adams, 1853-58. 
James A. Smith, 1858-61. 
Royal Joyslin, 1861-66. 
Oliver Nutter, 1866-73. 
John W.' Spaulding, 1873-78. 
Charles E. Allen, 1878-87. 
Charles E. Mclntire, 1887-91. 
Erastus V. Cobleigh, 1891-95. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 543 

John T. Amey, 1895-97. 

Fielding Smith, 1897-. 

WilHam G. EUis, Grange Village P. O., 1887-. 

Edward A. Steele, South Lancaster P. O., 1891-96. 

Thomas Sweetser, South Lancaster P. O., 1896-. 



CHAPTER XVIL 

THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 
By Col. Henry O. Kent. 

It is not within the province of this chapter to gather the names 
of all residents of the town who have served the state in the recur- 
ring wars of the country, or who have been enrolled in the militia. 

Frontier scouts or rangers and soldiers of the old French War 
were among her first settlers. Officers and soldiers of the War of 
the Revolution early gave force and character to her citizenship. 
Citizens of Lancaster served with distinction in the War with Great 
Britain, in the second decade of the present century, others were 
engaged in maintaining the authority of the state during the trou- 
bles at Indian Stream, and others enlisted in the gallant regiment 
that Pierce led and Ransom commanded in the War with Mexico. 

During the war for the preservation of the Union the town con- 
tributed freely of her people and her treasure to maintain the 
nation's life, and during all the years reaching back to the earliest 
settlement an enrolled, and most of the time an active, militia fur- 
nished the reserve from which officers and men were drawn for ser- 
vice on the battle-fields of the country or for duty at home. 

It is manifestly impossible to compile a list of all the soldiers of 
the town in the state's service during that long period when all 
able-bodied citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five 
were enrolled and mustered for regular duty, because such a roster 
would, in its entirety, comprehend nearly the entire male popula- 
tion. 

It has been decided, however, to collect in this connection the 
names of all citizens of Lancaster who have borne commissions in 
the federal or state military service, and to publish entire the list of 
all who served for the town in the great contest of 1 861— '65, with 
names of others in actual service in other wars. 

The rolls of the adjutant-general's office at Concord are not com- 
plete, but they have been carefully examined, and such information 
as they furnish is here presented. 

The state was early divided into territory assigned to each regi- 



544 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

ment, and as the population increased this territory was in many 
instances restricted, while the number of the regiments gradually 
increased until, when the old establishment was at its height, about 
1850, there were forty-two regiments; that in the territory corre- 
sponding nearly to the southern judicial district of Coos county 
being the Forty-second ; a single command, the Twenty-fourth, 
prior to this division comprising the entire county as at present 
constituted, and Jackson and Bartlett in the county of Carroll, then 
part of the county of Coos. 

For very many years there was an artillery company in each 
regiment; one always at Lancaster, and after the division, one at 
Stewartstown, in the Twenty-fourth. The original Lancaster com- 
pany had a light 3-pound brass cannon, without limber or caisson, 
manipulated by drag ropes attached to hooks at the ends of the 
wooden axle. The later guns were brass 6-pounders, with limber, 
managed in the modern way with horses and handled by bricoles. 
They were sent away during the days of the war to be rifled and 
recast, or turned in toward the procurement of the equipment of the 
First New Hampshire light battery. 

There were at times a cavalry company and several independent 
or light infantry companies. Lancaster has had at one time, under 
the old regime, an artillery company, an independent company, 
and the old line company, or, as it was sometimes most disrespect- 
fully called in the days of its decadence, the floodwood. 

Perhaps the crack light infantry company of the county was the 
Jefferson Guards, a company of splendid physique, striking in white 
pants, with black leggings, black plumes, and bearing a white silk 
banner on which was a life-sized bust portrait of Thomas Jefferson. 
Of course the command was from the town of Jefferson. 

But again a digression is checked. This chapter is not a history 
of the old militia or a description of its musters. It will not breathe 
of the shrill fifes or rattling drums, as heading the companies from 
Stark, or Carrol, or Dalton, or Jefferson, which streamed into Lan- 
caster before light of a muster morning, — they told of "The White 
Cockade," " The Road to Boston," or " Boney over the Alps " — but 
merely present a chronological record of the men who bore com- 
missions and who served the country in her later wars ; and so the 
Assembly is ended and the Roll-Call begins: 

Governor and Captain-General. 
Jared Warner Williams, June 3, 1847. June, 1848. 

Major-Generals. 
John Wilson, Second division, June 15, 1824. 



the soldiers of lancaster. 545 

Brigadier-Generals. 

Edwards Bucknam, Sixth brigade, 1800. 
John Wilson, Sixth brigade, June 29, 1822. 
Ira Young, Sixth brigade, June 16, 1836. 
Jacob Benton, Sixth brigade, June, 1857. 

Staff Officers. 

Richard C. Everett, inspector and brigade major Sixth brigade, 

1800. 
Charles J. Stuart, brigade inspector Sixth brigade, Aug. 10, 1822. 
Jared W. Williams, brigade inspector Sixth brigade, Gen. Lewis 

Loomis, Sept. 21, 1823. 
William Cargill, aid to Gen. George P. Meserve, Sixth brigade, Aug. 

9, 1824. 
Jared W. Williams, division inspector to Maj.-Gen. Geo. P. Meserve, 

July 16, 1825. 
Ira Young, division inspector to Maj.-Gen. Jonathan Poole, April 

19, 1826. 
Turner Stephenson, quartermaster Sixth brigade, Gen. John Wilson, 

Aug. 10, 1822. 
David Burnside, quartermaster Sixth brigade, Aug. 9, 1824. 
Jared VV. Williams, aid to Brigadier-General Wilson, Sixth brigade, 

Aug. 10, 1822. 
Hiram A. Fletcher, judge advocate Eighth brigade, 1850. 
Mark R. Woodbury, aid to Brig. -Gen. Moses Cook, Sept. 25, 1834. 

On Governor's Staff. 

Albro L. Robinson, aid to General Gilman, Aug. 17, 1839. 

Charles B. Allen, aid to General Gilman, Aug. 3, 1840. 

Col. John S. Wells, aid to Gov. John Page, July 4, 1839. 

Henry O. Kent, colonel and division inspector, Maj.-Gen. Nelson 

Converse, June, 1857. 
Ira S. M. Gove, brigade major Sixth brigade, June, 1857. 
Levi B. Joyslin, aid Sixth brigade, June, 1857. 
Col. William Burns, aid to Governor Williams, June 21, 1847. 
Col. George C.Williams, aid to Governor Dinsmore, June 15, 1849. 
Col. Edmund Brown, aid to Governor Metcalf, June 20, 1855. 
Col. Chester B. Jordan, aid to Governor Straw, June 6, 1872. 
Col. Edward R. Kent, aid to Governor Weston, June 19, 1874. 
Col. Ossian Ray, aid to Governor Prescott, June 7, 1877. 
Brig. -Gen. Ezra Mitchell, aid to Governor Bell, June 23, 1881. 
Brig. -Gen. Everett Fletcher, aid to Governor Hale, June 26, 1883. 
Brig. -Gen. Philip Carpenter, aid to Governor Currier, June 17, 1885. 
35 



546 history of lancaster. 

Twenty-Fifth Regiment. 

Col. Joseph Whipple of Dartmouth (Jefferson), commanding. 
Edwards Bucknam, lieutenant-colonel, 1787. 

Twenty-Fourth Regiment. 

field. 

Edwards Bucknam, lieutenant-colonel commanding, Dec. 28, 179-' 

Edwards Bucknam, colonel, 1797. 

Nathan Barlow, lieutenant-colonel commanding, June 9, 1801. 

Richard Clair Everett, major First battalion, 1802. 

Hopestill Jennison, major Second battalion, 1802. 

Richard Clair Everett, lieutenant-colonel, 1805. 

Stephen Wilson, major, 1805. 

Stephen Wilson, lieutenant-colonel commanding, 1812. 

Sylvanus Chessman, major, 18 12. 

John Wilson, colonel, 18 18. 

John H. White, colonel, June 18, 1825. 

Ephraim Cross, colonel, June 21, 1832. 

Ira Young, colonel, June 25, 1833. 

Jonathan W. Willard, lieutenant-colonel, July 8, 1826. 

Ephraim Cross, lieutenant-colonel, June 22, 1821. 

John M. Denison, lieutenant-colonel, June 9, 18 16. 

John W^ilson, lieutenant-colonel, June 19, 18 17. 

John M. Denison, colonel, June 19, 181 7. 

Jonathan W. Willard, colonel, June 26, 1827. 

John M. Denison, major, June 14, 18 14. 

Sylvanus Chessman, major, 1812. 

Joel Hemenway, major, June 23, 18 19. 

John H. White, major, June 15, 1824. 

Jonathan W. Willard, major, June 18, 1825. 

Ira Young, major, June 21, 1832. 

STAFF. 

John H. White, adjutant, June 22, 1820. 
Charles Baker, adjutant, July 9, 1824. 
Charles A. Going, adjutant, June 23, 1826. 
Ephraim Cross, adjutant, July 22, 1829. 
Joseph C. Cady, adjutant, June 22, 1831. 
George W. Perkins, adjutant, June 3, 18 14. 
William Denison, adjutant, July 3, 1818. 
Richard Eastman, quartermaster, June 11, 1811. 
Noyes Denison, quartermaster, Dec. 24, 1816. 
John W. Hodgdon, quartermaster, Nov. 10, 1827. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 54/ 



George Bellows, quartermaster, July 22, 1829. 
William T. Carlisle, quartermaster, Aug. 23, 1838. 
Edwards Bucknam, paymaster, Dec. 9, 18 16. 
William Holkins, paymaster, July 9, 1824. 
Benj. H. Chadbourne, paymaster, Aug. 15, 1837. 
Eliphalet Lyman, surgeon, June 9, 1813. 
Jacob E. Stickney, surgeon, Dec. 21, 1836. 
George T. Dexter, surgeon's mate, Dec. 8, 1838. 
James R. Wheelock, chaplain, July 9, 1824. 
Orange Scott, chaplain, July 5, 1827. 
Haskell Wheelock, chaplain, July 22, 1829. 

LINE. 

Cavab'y. 

Thomas Carlisle, captain, June 9, 1813. 
Charles Hilliard, captain, Dec. 9, 18 19. 
Jesse Carr, lieutenant, June 7, 18 13. 
James Dewey, lieutenant, Dec. 9, 1816. 
Stephen Wilson, lieutenant, Aug. 9, 18 14. 
Samuel Bundy, lieutenant, June 9, 1813. 
John Lucas, lieutenant, July 15, 1820. 
William Mitchell, cornet, June 3, 18 14. 

Art i Her y. 

John Wilson, 3d, captain, June 13, 1820. 
Edwin F. Eastman, captain, Dec. 24, 1836. 
Seth Adams, captain, April 21, 1837. 
John Mason, captain, April 5, 1838. 
Josiah G. Hobart, captain, Aug. 8, 1828. 
William W. Chapman, captain, July 22, 1829. 
Jabez D. Philbrook, captain, March 3, 1831. 
Erastus Woodward, captain, July i, 1834. 
John W. Spaulding, lieutenant, June 13, 1820. 
Fred G. Messer, lieutenant, Aug. 8, 1824. 
Jabez D. Philbrook, lieutenant, July 22, 1829. 
Joseph C. Cady, lieutenant, March 2, 183 1. 
Erastus Woodward, lieutenant, Aug. 11, 1831. 
Seth Adams, lieutenant, July i, 1834. 
Caleb Walker, lieutenant, June 24, 1837. 
Ephraim Cross, lieutenant, June 13, 1820. 
Hezekiah M. Smith, lieutenant, Aug. 8, 1825. 
Harry Hobart, lieutenant, July, 1828. 
Joseph C. Cady, lieutenant, July 22, 1829. 
Erastus Woodward, lieutenant, March 2, 183 i. 



548 HISTORY OF LANCASTER, 

Seth Adams, lieutenant, Aug. ii, 1831. 
Elijah D. Twonibly, lieutenant, July i, 1834. 
John Mason, lieutenant, Dec. 21, 1836. 
Joseph Greenleaf, lieutenant, April 5, 1838. 
Prescott Lovejoy, lieutenant, Feb. 17, 1840. 

FIRST COMPANY. 
Light Itifaniry. 

Samuel White, captain, Dec. 9, 1824. 
Abel Leavins, Jr., captain, Aug. 10, 1827. 
Joseph Chessman, captain, March 2, 1831. 
Daniel W. Allen, captain, Dec. 21, 1836. 
George W. Perkins, lieutenant. Dec. 9, 1824. 
Benjamin Stanley, lieutenant, July 18, 1828. 
Seth Savage, lieutenant, Dec. 21, 1836. 
Abel Leavins, Jr., lieutenant, Aug. 8, 1825. 
Oliver W. Baker, lieutenant, March 2, 1831. 
Oren Mason, lieutenant, Dec. 21, 1836. 

Infantry. 

John Wilson, captain, June 3, 18 14. 
Joel Hemmenway, captain, Sept. i, 1817. 
William Stanley, captain, Aug. 9, 18 19. 
Jonathan W. Willard, captain, June 17, 1820. 
Adna Crandall, captain, Aug. 8, 1825. 
Greenleaf C. Philbrook, captain, June 24, 1828. 
Levi F. Ranlet, captain, April 26, 1830. 
Harvey Adams, captain, June 14, 1832. 
Joseph Brackett Moore, captain, March 23, 1835, 
Daniel W. Allen, captain, Dec. 21, 1836. 
William D. Weeks, captain, April 25, 1839. 
Joel Hemmenway, lieutenant, June 3, 18 14. 
Samuel White, lieutenant, June 3, 18 14. 
Bailey Denison, lieutenant, Sept. r, 18 17. 
Jonathan W. Willard, lieutenant, Aug. 9, 18 19. 
Charles Baker, lieutenant, June 17, 1820. 
William Moore, 2d lieutenant, June 17, 1820. 
Adna Crandall, lieutenant, May 31, 1824. 
Greenleaf C. Philbrook, lieutenant, Aug. 8, 1825. 
John C. Moore, 2d lieutenant, Aug. 8, 1825. 
John C. Moore, ist lieutenant, June 23, 1828. 
Levi F. Ranlet, lieutenant, June 23, 1828. 
Harvey Adams, lieutenant, April 26, 1830. 
William D. Weeks, lieutenant, June 21, 183 1. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 549 

Joseph B. Moore, lieutenant, June 13, 1832. 
Seth Savage, 2d lieutenant, March 23, 1835. 
Seth Savage, ist lieutenant, Dec. 21, 1836. 
Daniel W. Allen, lieutenant, March 23, 1835. 
Oren Mason, lieutenant, Dec. 21, 1838. 
Edward F. Bucknam, lieu4:enant, April 25, 1839. 
John Sargent, lieutenant, April 25, 1839. 

Forty-Second Regiment. 

Organized, as before stated, from the division of the Twenty-Fourth 
regiment, in 1840. 

The last Regimental Muster was holden Saturday, Sept. 22, 1849, 
on " Burnside's Field on the Sand Hill" — the land now embraced 
by Pleasant Street, and its abutting properties. James H. Hall was 
colonel, Horace Whitcomb, lieutenant-colonel, and Orville E. Free- 
man, major. July 12, 1850, all parades, save of independent vol- 
unteer companies, were abolished. The muster of 1848 was on 
Baker Hill, where Winter street now is. In September, 1847, was 
an " Of^cers' Drill " of three days, on Cady's meadow, Gustave 
A. Breaux, a Norwich cadet, still living in New Orleans, being the 
instructor. 

FIELD. 

John S. Wells, colonel, June 22, 1840. 
James W. Weeks, colonel, July 6, 1846. 
James H. Hall, colonel, June 30, 1849. 
Horace Whitcomb, colonel, Jan. 8, 1853. 
Joseph W. Merriam, colonel, March 30, 1855. 
Orville E. Freeman, colonel, March 20, 1857. 
William D. Weeks, lieutenant-colonel, June 20, 1844. 
Erastus I. Abbott, lieutenant-colonel, June 22, 1848. 
James H. Hall, lieutenant-colonel. May 24, 1849. 
Horace Whitcomb, lieutenant-colonel, Aug. 21, 1849. 
Joseph W. Merriam, lieutenant-colonel, Jan. 8, 1853. 
Orville E. Freeman, lieutenant-colonel, March 30, 1855. 
Henry O. Kent, lieutenant-colonel, March 20, 1857. 
William D. Weeks, major, Dec. 7, 1840. 
James W. Weeks, major, Dec. 20, 1845. 
James H. Hall, major, Aug. 5, 1848. 
Jason F. Nutter, major, June 3, 1849. 
Orville E. Freeman, major, Aug. 31, 1849. 
Charles E. Connor, major, March 30, 1855. 
Henry O. Kent, major, Dec. i, 1855. 
Henry J. Whitcomb, major, March 30, 1857. 



550 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

George A. Cossitt, adjutant, Oct. 2, 1841. 
William A. White, adjutant, March 8, 1844. 
John M. Whipple, adjutant, Aug. 5, 1848. 
Joseph W. Merriam, adjutant, Aug. 3, 1849. 
Henry J. Whitcomb, adjutant, April 18, 1853. 
Jared I. Williams, adjutant, April 9, 1857. 
James H. Hall, quartermaster, Sept. 4, 1847. 
James Spaulding, quartermaster, Aug. 3, 1849. 
Paschal M. Hovey, quartermaster, April 18, 1853. 
Robert Sawyer, paymaster, July 8, 1844. 
David A. Burnside, paymaster, Sept. 14, 1848. 
Jacob E. Stickney, surgeon, Oct. 2, 1840. 
George T. Dexter, surgeon, March 20, 1843. 
John W. Barney, surgeon, March 30, 1844. 
Henry Hill, chaplain, Aug. 3, 1849. 

LINE. 

Artillery. 

Prescott Lovejoy, captain, March 4, 1841. 
John Mason, captain, July 25, 1844. 
John Weeks, captain, Nov. 20, 1844. 
Erastus I. Abbott, captain, April 25, 1846. 
Jason F. Nutter, captain, Sept. 4, 1848. 
John M. Lindsey, captain, April 29, 185 i. 
Joseph H. Balch, lieutenant, Aug. 28, 1841. 
John Weeks, lieutenant, July 25, 1844. 
Erastus I. Abbott, lieutenant, Nov. 20, 1844. 
Jason F. Nutter, lieutenant, April 25, 1846. 
John M. Lindsey, lieutenant, Aug. 31, 1849. 
Mark Reed, lieutenant, April 30, 1850. 
George F. Stone, lieutenant, April 29, 185 I. 
John M. Smith, lieutenant, Aug. 28, 1841. 
Benj. H. Darby, lieutenant, Nov. 20, 1844. 
Orville E. Freeman, lieutenant, April 28, 1847. 
M. D. L. F. Smith, lieutenant, Aug. 31, 1849. 
Edward E. Cross, lieutenant. May 14, 1850. 
John G. Derby, lieutenant, April 29, 185 i. 
James S. Brackett, lieutenant, June t8, 185 i. 

Infantry. 

Edward I". Bucknam, captain, Oct. 2, 1840. 
James W. Weeks, captain. May 8, 1843. 
Samuel H. LeGro, captain, April 25, 1846. 
James Mclntire, captain, April 4, 1848. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 551 

Horace Whitcomb, captain, April ii, 1849. 
Charles E. Connor, captain, Aug. 31, 1849. 
William H. Heath, captain, April 16, 1855. 
Josiah Harrington, lieutenant, Oct. 2, 1840. 
James R. Whittemore, lieutenant, Sept. 2, 1841. 
James W. Weeks, lieutenant, Aug. 8, 1842. 
John Weeks, lieutenant, May 8, 1843. 
Samuel H. LeGro, lieutenant, Sept. 2, 1843. 
James Mclntire, lieutenant, Aug. ii, 1844. 
Horace Whitcomb, lieutenant, April 4, 1848. 
Charles E. Conner, lieutenant, April 11, 1849. 
Charles S. Hodgdon, lieutenant, Aug. 31, 1849. 
Jared I. Williams, lieutenant, April 2, 1856. 
James S. Freeman, lieutenant, Aug. 31, 1849. 
William R. Joyslin, lieutenant, April 2, 1856. 

In 1857 the militia was " reorganized " — all able bodied males 
between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were enrolled yearly 
by the selectmen when taking the April inventory, and returned to 
the adjutant-general. Three divisions and six brigades were desig- 
nated geographically, and major and brigadier-generals, with staff 
ofificers, appointed. 

There was no active militia for several years thereafter, and until 
after the great Civil War, save several incorporated associations, such 
as the "Amoskeag Veterans" and " Governor's Horse Guards," and 
a few independent companies, not more than half a dozen in all. 

The Governor's Horse Guards. 

A command of four companies of cavalry organized as a regi- 
ment. Its especial duty was to act as escort for the governor-elect 
at the capitol on " election day." It first paraded in i860, and its 
last parade was in 1865. 

Henry O. Kent, colonel, March 17, 1864. 
Henry O. Kent, major, Jan. 11, i860. 

Second Regiment, Volunteer Militia, 
lancaster rifles, company i. 

Jared I. Williams, captain, March 24, 1865. 
John G. Derby, ist lieutenant, March 24, 1865. 
Francis L. Cross, 2d lieutenant, March 24, 1865. 
Disbanded 1868. 



552 history of lancaster. 

Third Regiment, Infantry. 

FIELD. 
Irving W. Drew, major, April i8, 1878. 

STAFF. 
Frank A. Colby, surgeon. May 8, 1878. 

LANCASTER RIFLES, COMPANY F. 

William G. Ellis, captain, April 11, 1878. 
Moses A. Hastings, captain, July 25, 1879. 
George H. Emerson, captain, Aug. 30, 1882. 
Frank A. Colby, lieutenant, April 11, 1878. 
Solon L. Simonds, lieutenant, June 25, 1878. 
Moses A. Hastings, lieutenant, June 25, 1878. 
Willie E. Bullard, lieutenant, July 25, 1879. 
George H. Emerson, lieutenant, June 24, 1882. 
Henry J. Cummings, lieutenant, Aug. 30, 1882. 
Richard B. Whitcomb, lieutenant, April 10, 1884. 
James H. Darby, lieutenant, April 10, 1884. 
Disbanded May 16, 1884. 

ACTUAL SERYICE. 

In the earlier da}^s of the state, regiments and companies were 
raised for scouting duty, for garrisons, or for different military expe- 
ditions, as occasion required, such as the taking of Crown Point, 
and the capture of Louisburg. In 1760 there were appointed ten 
regiments. The Twenty-fourth regiment was organized in 1792, 
after the adoption of the new state constitution. 

So far as can be ascertained from tradition and scattered mem- 
oranda, the men of Lancaster who were participants in the French 
and Indian wars and in the War of Independence, were as follows: 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS, 1755-63. 

Emmons Stockwell, Major Rogers Rangers. 

Thomas Burnside, Major Rogers Rangers and John Stark Rangers, 

David Page, Jr., Major Rogers Rangers. 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 1775-83. 

John Burgin, lieutenant. Dennis Stanley, ensign. 

John Weeks, lieutenant. Phinehas Hodgdon, sergeant. 

Joseph Brackctt, lieutenant. Moses White, aide to Major-Gen- 

eral Hazen. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 



553 



Privates. 



Rev. Joseph Willard, 
Richard Clair Everett, 
David Greenleaf, 
Ebenezer Twombly, 
Isaac Darby, 
Samuel S. Wentworth, 
John Mclntire, 
Nathaniel White, 



Jonathan Willard, 
Abner Osgood, 
Samuel Page, 
Moses Page, 
James Rosebrooks, 
Eleazer Rosebrooks, 
James Hardy. 



Lieut. John Weeks was in service in the vicinity of Albany, N. Y. ; 
Lieut. Joseph Brackett served at the forts about Portsmouth (N. H.) 
harbor; Ensign Dennis Stanley was engaged on scouting parties; 
Jonathan Willard, Abner Osgood, Samuel Page, John Page, and 
Moses Page served under Captain Eames at the forts in the Cohas 
country; James Rosebrooks served in Whitcomb's Rangers from 
1776 to 1779, and Eleazer Rosebrooks, James Hardy, and the 
other men in the foregoing list, not specially designated as on duty 
elsewhere, were in the Continental Line regiments. 

WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, i8i2-'i5. 

John W. Weeks, major iith U. S. Infantry. 
John W. Weeks, captain iith U. S. Infantry. 
Benjamin Stephenson, lieutenant iith U. S. Infantry. 
Amaziah Knight, sergeant nth U. S. Infantry. 
Edwards Bucknam, sergeant iith U. S. Infantry. 
Allen Smith, musician iith U. S. Infantry. 
Orvin R. Dexter, musician iith U. S. Infantry. 



Privates nth 



Stephen Bullard, 
Gad Beecher, 
John Burgin, 2d, 
John Bickford, 
John English, 
Joel Farnham, 
Samuel Gotham, 
Robert Gotham, 
Alpheus Hutchins, 
John Hicks, 
John M. Holmes, 
Daniel Holmes, 
George W. Lucus, 
Jacob Mclntire, 



U. S. Infantry. 

Harvey Moore, 
Shepherd Morse, 
Jacob B. Moore, 
John W. Moore, 
Daniel Perkins, 
James Perkins, 
Levi Pratt, 
Edmund Sanborn, 
James B. Stanley, 
Israel Sanderson, 
John Wilson, 
George Ingerson, 
Abram Sanborn. 



554 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Capt. Edmund Freeman's (of Lebanon) company at the Canada 
line, 1812 : 



Joel Hemmenway, sergeant. 
Stephen Hayes, fifer. 



Privates. 



Gustavus A. Hall, Amasa Page, 

George W. Moore, David Taylor, 

John Perkins, Benjamin Upham. 

Capt. James Mooney's* company at Indian Stream, 1835. The 
Indian Stream, or "Applebee War." 

Privates. 

James H. Balch, Eli Kenerson, 

Harry Boutwell, John Perkins, 

Alfred C. Greenleaf, Charles F. Stone, 

Douglass Ingerson, John Sweet. 
Dennis Jones, 

In Capt. Daniel Batchelder's (Bath) company. Ninth or New 
England regiment, Mexican War, 1 847 : 

Privates. 
James Powers, 

Harvey Wade ("Tinker" Wade), 
Jefferson Perkins ("Gentleman" Perkins). 

WAR OF THE REBELLION, i86i-'65. 

In the State Service. 

Henry O. Kent, aide to the adjutant-general with rank of colonel, 
April 16, 1 86 1 (detailed to organize recruiting in Coos 
county) ; assistant adjutant-general of New Hampshire, with 
rank of colonel, April 30, 1861. 

In the United States Service. 

FIELD. 

Edward E. Cross, colonel Fifth volunteer infantry (killed at Gettys- 
burg, in command of a brigade, July 3, 1863). 
Henry O. Kent, colonel Seventeenth volunteer infantry. 

* Captain Mooney was from Stewartstown. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 555 

Richard E. Cross, lieutenant-colonel Fifth volunteer infantry (com- 
missioned colonel 1865, but not mustered by reason of deple- 
tion of regiment). 

Richard E. Cross, major, Fifth volunteer infantry. 

It seems proper, from the value and prominence of their services, 
to add the names of, — 

Nelson Cross, born and reared in Lancaster; colonel of New York 
volunteer infantry; brigadier-general and major-general by 
brevet, who died in 1897. 

Harris M. Plaisted, born in Jefferson; educated and always at home 
in Lancaster; colonel of Maine volunteer infantry; brigadier- 
general United States volunteers, and governor of Maine, who 
also died in 1897. 

STAFF. 

John W. Bucknam, surgeon Fifth infantry. 

James D. Folsom, surgeon Seventeenth infantry. 

Horatio N. Small, assistant surgeon Seventeenth and Thirteenth 

infantry, and surgeon Tenth infantry. 
Ira S. M. Gove, commissary Seventeenth infantry. 

REGULAR ARMY. 

Francis L. Towne, assistant surgeon United States army, 1861 ; 
retired with rank of colonel; assistant surgeon general United 
States army, 1896. 

UNITED STATES NAVY. 
Alfred Titus Snell, rank of commander. 

SPECIAL DUTY. 

Ossian Ray, commissioned lieutenant and deputy provost-marshal 
during the later years of the war, assigned to duty in Coos 
county. 

Horace A. White, sutler Fifth infantry. 

Frank Smith, sutler Seventeenth infantry. 

LINE. 

Hugh R. Richardson, captain Company C, Second. 
Harrison D. F. Young, captain Company H, Second. 
Henry S. Hilliard, captain Company B, Fifth. 
Edmund Brown, captain Company B, Fifth. 
Charles P. Denison, captain Company A, Seventh, 
Freedom M. Rhodes, captain Company E, Fourteenth. 



556 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Jared I. Williams, captain Compaii}^ A, Seventeenth. 
John G. Lewis, lieutenant Company H, Ninth. 
James S. Brackett, lieutenant Company A, Seventeenth, 
Joseph Chase, lieutenant Company A, Seventeenth. 
Charles N. Kent, lieutenant Company C, Seventeenth. 
Walter S. Bailey, lieutenant Company A, heavy artillery. 
John C. Jenness, lieutenant Company I, heavy artillery. 
Richard E. Cross, lieutenant. Company H, Fifth infantry. 
William H. Shurtleff, lieutenant Company I, heavy artillery. 

RESIDENTS OF LANCASTER, AT PERIODS SINCE THE WAR, BUT 
NOT DURING SERVICE. 

(This list is necessarily incomplete, but as full as possible from 
attainable data. ) \ 

Dr. Ezra Mitchell, Ninth Maine, medical cadet U. S. A. 

E. W. Wyman, lieutenant Maine infantr}^ 

Parker J. Noyes, Eighth Vermont ; lieutenant United States colored 
troops. 

Alexander M. Beattie, Company I, Third Vermont ; has congres- 
sional gold medal of honor. 

Sergeant Levi H. Parker, Eighth Vermont. 

Dr. Dan Lee Jones, Fourth Vermont and U. S. A. 

Thomas Sweetser, Fifth and Fiftieth Massachusetts. 

Thomas S. Thayer, Fifth New Hampshire. 

Stephen Simmons, Seventeenth Vermont. 

James N. King, National Guard. 

Frank M. Lucas, Eighth Vermont. 

George R. Bush, Sixth Vermont. 

Alvah B. Sleeper, Eleventh Vermont. 

Davis T. Timberlake, Twenty-third Maine. 

Charles Couture, Nineteenth Maine. 

Sergeant Charles E. King, Seventeenth New Hampshire. 

Harlow Connor, D, First Cavalry. 

Edward B. Beach, Ninth Vermont. 

Frank C. Grant, Vermont Volunteers. 

George W. Cummings, Sixth, Ninth, Seventeenth New Hampshire. 

Patrick Gleason. 

Joseph Forshy. 

Sergeant Charles Forbes, Company H, Thirteenth New Hampshire. 

John W. Stevens, First Vermont Cavalry. 

Calvin Fuller, Third Vermont. 

Henry J. Cummings, A, Third New Hampshire. 

(It is impossible to present the. names of non-resident soldiers, 
deceased, sometime resident of Lancaster.) 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 



557 



Second Regiment Infantry. 



Chas. W. Fletcher, sergt. Co. F. 
Richard O. Young, Co. F. 
Charles Buck, Co. F. 
George Burt, Co. F. 
Joseph Benway, Co. F. 
George W. Morgan, Co. F. 
Patrick McCaffrey, Co. F. 
Charles F. Nutter, Co. F. 
George Robinson, Co. F. 
Gilman Aldrich, Co. F. 
Levi P. Barrows, Co. F. 



Jerome H. Brown, Co. F. 
Ebenezer Carpenter, Co. F. 
Ira G. Douglass, Co. F. 
Oliver P. Day, Co. H. 
Morrill C. Day, unknown. 
James Martin. 
Charles E. Mclntire, Co. G. 
Samuel O. Nutter Co. F. 
John Puryea, Co. K. 
Benjamin Sawyer, Co, F. 
Joseph Thompson, Co. D. 



Third Regiment. 



Orville R. Moulton, sergt. Co. I. 
Thomas Cassady, corp. Co. I. 
Edwin R. Jones, corp. Co. I. 
Nelson B. Lindsey, corp. Co. I. 
John W. Morse, musician Co. I. 
James Blanchard, Co. I. 
Frederick T. Bennett, Co. I. 
John H. Cameron, Co. I. 
Oscar Gaines, Co. I. 



Charles H. Kane, Co. I. 
William Wilkins, Co. I. 
Calvin O. Wilkins, Co. I. 
Frederick A. Wentworth, Co. 
Charles M. Blood, Co. I. 
Andrew J. Fowler, Co. I. 
James Moulton, Co. I. 
John W. Moulton, Co. I. 



Orange Fisk, Co. H. 
Charles Williams, Co. 
Michael Geno, Co. D. 



Fourth Regiment. 

George L. Harrington, Co. K. 
K. James Taylor, Co. C. 



Fifth Regiment. 



Freeman Lindsey, wagonmaster. 
John G. Sutton, Co. B. 
William A. Corson, Co. B. 
James Cummings, Co. B. 
Alexander Cummings, Co. B. 
W^illiam G. Ellis, Co. B. 
Levi J. Corson, Co. B. 
Michael Cassady, Co. B. 
James Cassady, Co. B. 
Michael Eagan, Co. B. 
Erastus W. Forbes, Co. B. 
Leonard W. Howard, Co. B. 
Francis Heywood, Co. B. 



Sylvanus Chessman, Co. F. 
Richard Fletcher, Co. B. 
George H. Nickerson, Co. F. 
Milton A. Adams, Co. A. 
Enoch N. Clement, Co. A. 
James Colby, Co. B. 
Reuben F. Carter, Co. K. 
Joseph Hart, bugler, Co. D. 
Joseph P. Matthews, Co. H. 
Martin McCormic, Co. F. 
Daniel Mahone}-, Co. F. 
George W. Marden, Co. A. 
Charles D. Farrington, Co. B. 



558 



HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 



Louis Lapointe, Co. B. Edward Sweeney. 

Eldad A. Rhoades, sergt. Co. B. Solomon Wilson, Co. B. 
Hosea Stone, Co. B. Jonathan Dow, Co. B. 

Sixth Regiment. 



Edward Gillingham, Co. H. 
Theodore Hagerman, Co. K. 
Harvey Knip, Co. A. 
Harvey H. Lucas, Co. H. 



Charles Parker, Co. F. 
Charles E. Rogers, Co. H. 
Aaron Wight, Co. L 
Franklin Walker, Co. A. 



Seventh Regiment. 



Frederick Ingerson, Co. A. 
James S. Lucas, Co. A. 
Alden Lewis, Co. A. 
Philip McCaffrey, Co. A. 
John L. Meserve, Co. A. 



Cyrus Savage, Co. A. 
Charles C. Beaton, Co. G. 
Daniel T. Johnson, Co. G. 
James A. King, Co. B. 
Joseph Lary, Co. H. 



Eighth Regiment. 



Wellington Brown, Co. G. 
William Cloutman, Co. F. 
George C. French, Co. C. 
William B. Hetson, Co. E. 
John Jordan, Co. E. 
Allen Johnson, Co. F. 
James S. Lome, Co. H. 
Peter Larson, Co. D. 
Jonathan Metcalf, Co. G. 



Charles O. Merry, Co. G. 
Michael O'Flanigan, Co. G. 
Adam Osborne, Co. C. 
Jacob Renold, Co. G. 
Oliver Sules, Co. G. 
William H. Veazie, Co. G. 
Joseph G. Wolcott, Co. G. 
William Brown, Co. F. 



Ninth Regiment. 



Frederick Morse, corp. Co. H. 
William H. Allen, Co. H. 
William H. Farnham, Co. H. 
Henry H. Moulton, Co. H. 
Freeman H. Perkins, Co. H. 
Henry H. Sanderson, Co. H. 
Lucien F. Thomas, Co. H. 
Simon Connary, Co. H. 
George W. Cummings, Co. H. 
Ira G. Douglass, Co. F. 
Loren E. Stalbird, Co.. H. 
Joseph E. Hodge, Co. H. 
Edwin R. Jones, Co. H. 



John G. Lewis, 2d, Co. H. 
Harvey H. Lucas, Co. H. 
Paul Perkins, Co. H. 
Charles E. Rogers, Co. H. 
Sanford E. Dinsmore, Co. H. 
Harrison E. Round, Co. H. 
George Tenry, Co. F. 
William H. Wilkins, Co. 
John Boudle, Co. H. 
Nelson Palmer, Co. H. 
Sumner Perkins, Co. H. 
John Mooney, Co. H. 



H. 



Eleventh Regiment. 



John Burgin, Co. G. 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 



559 



Thirteenth Reglment. 
Otis B. Harriman, Co. D. 

Fourteenth Regiment. 



Hiram J. Round, sergt. Co. E. 
Lewis P. Summers, sergt. Co. E. 
Abel H. Wesson, Co. E. 
Frank Boutwell, Co. E. 
Moses Colby, Co. E. 
Alden A. Dow, Co. E. 
Joseph M. Gray, Co. E. 
Ida A. Hodge, Co. E. 
Edward Jarvis, Co. E. 
William Jarvis, Co. E. 
Andrew J. Lang, Co. E. 
Charles E. Nutter, Co. E. 



Spaulding S. Rich, Co. E. 
William Sherwood, Co. E. 
W. H. H. Stalbird, Co. E. 
Edward B. Wilder, Co. E. 
David Young, Co. E. 
Thomas Cassady, Co. F. 
Frederick O. Hayes, Co. F 
John McMahon, Co. L 
William Blair, Co. E. 
Edward Lotcher, Co. F. 
Thomas Wentworth, Co. E 
Benj. F. Moulton, Co. E. 



Seventeenth Regiment. 



John P. Denison, com. sergt. 
Ezra H. Bennett, sergt. Co. A. 
Charles A. Larkin, sergt. Co. A. 
Geo. H. Emerson, corp. Co. A. 
H. E. Hadlock, hdqrs. Co. A. 
Thomas P. Moody, corp. Co. A. 
Harvey H. Lucas, Co. A. 
Walter S. Bailey, hdqrs. Co. A. 
Simpson E. Chase, wardmaster, 

Co. A. 
Thomas Cunningham, Co. A. 
John G. Derby, ord. sergt. Co. C. 
Willard A. Jackson, Co. A. 
Alfred L. Jackson, Co. A. 
John C. Jenness, clerk, O. M. S. 



John C. Moore, Co. A. 
Henry McCarthy, Co. A. 
Sidney H. Peaslee, wagonmaster, 

Co. A. 
Sumner Perkins, Co. A. 
Alfred C. Pratt, Co. A. 
William C. Putnam, Co. A. 
Frank Rafferty, Jr., Co. A. 
Albro L. Robinson, hosp. steward. 
James Ross, Co. A. 
William L. Rowell, sergt. Co. A. 
Jason Sherwood, Co. A. 
John W. Smith,. Co. A. 
Cyril C. Smith, Co. A. 



Eighteenth Regiment. 
Michael Early, Co. H. Patrick Cassady, Co. K. 

Heavy Artillery. 



William G. Ellis, Co. L 
Joseph H. Wilder, Co. L 
Zeb Twitchell, Co. L 
William M. Gushing, Co. L 



Richard M. J. Grant, Co. I. 
Phineas R. Hodgdon, Co. L 
Horatio O. Lewis, Co. L 
Joseph P. Matthews, Co. I. 



$60 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Charles Sherwood, Co. I. John Monahan, Co. I. 

George Robinson, Co. I. John G. Monahan, Co. I, 

Isaac F. Cotton, Co. I. Samuel S. McDonald, Co. I. 

Roswell C. Chessman, Co. I. Orville R. Moulton, light battery, 
Joseph B. Cloutman, Co. I. or Co. M. 

Richard H. Emerson, Co. I. Jason Sherwood, Co. I. 

John M. Farnham, Co. I. Hezekiah E. Hadlock. 
Edwin Farnham, Co. I. 

Company G, Second United States Sharpshooters. 

Zeb Twitchell. Joseph K. Hodge. 

Reuben F. Carter. James S. Kent. 

Thomas S. Ellis. Horace F. Morse. 
Reuben Gray. 

First New England Cavalry. 

Kimball A. Morse, Co. L. John K. Burton, Co. F. 

Michael Leary, Co. F. 

Commissions, 21 

Enlistments, 240 

Total, 261 

Probably about 230 different soldiers. 

Regiment and Company Unknown. 

Allison Chapman, recruit. 

George C. Wilson, recruit. 

Henry Long, recruit. 

Harpless Ellison, recruit, 

William Ward, recruit. 

Nelson Heath, recruit. 

Luke Odell, recruit. 

George Williams, recruit. 

Alexander Lilley, recruit. 

Louis Warren, recruit. 

Joseph Staples, recruit. 

Charles Wilson, recruit. 

Peyton Jackson, colored, Washington, August, 1864. 

William Harden, colored, Washington, August, 1864. 

John F. Sims, colored, Washington, August, 1864. 

John F. Newman, colored, Washington, August, 1864. 

It is perhaps needless to say that the foregoing lists of sol- 
diers do not comprehend the names of all present or past citizens 



THE SOLDIERS OF LANCASTER. 56 1 

of Lancaster who have served in the miHtia or the armies of the 
Union, but only of those who were citizens of the town during their 
time of service, and who are credited to Lancaster on the official 
records of the period, and of those now resident in town. 

Since the compilation of the foregoing, the following additional 
information concerning the of^cers in command of the militia in the 
regiments embracing the county of Coos has been furnished by 
Hon. A. S. Batchellor, state historian : 

Field officers of the militia regiment, covering the northwestern 
part of Grafton county (then embracing the present county of 
Coos) : 

The Provincl\l Period. 

From 1773, 1774, 1775, until August 24: 

John Hurd, colonel, Haverhill. 

Asa Porter, lieutenant-colonel, Haverhill. 

William Simpson, major, Orford. 

Revolutionary Period. 

The state was divided into sixteen regiments August 24, 1775, 
1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, and to January 12, 1782 : 

Israel Morey, colonel, Orford. 

Charles Johnson, lieutenant-colonel, Haverhill. 

Jonathan Child, first major, Lyme. 

John Hale, second major, Haverhill. 

By act of assembly. Lieutenant-colonel Charles Johnson was given 
command of the regiment in place of Morey, January 12, 1782, on 
account of the relations of the latter with the " Vermont movement" 
(the forming of an independent government, by the towns on either 
side of the river, in the Connecticut valley, with Hanover as the 
focus). No record is found as to the other field officers. After the 
promotion of Johnson, who was colonel to 1785, Major Child was, 
however, mixed with the Vermont movement, as was Morey. 

Twenty-Fifth Regiment. 

A new organization of the regiments, and increase in their num- 
ber, was effected in 1785, the field officers of the regiment in this 
territory being for 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, a break in the 
records here appearing until March 26, 1793 : 

Joseph Whipple, colonel, Jefferson (then Dartmouth). 
Edwards Bucknam, lieutenant-colonel, Lancaster. 
John Young, major first battalion, Lisbon. 
Asa Bailey, major second battalion, Landaff. 
-,6 



562 history of lancaster. 

Twenty-Fourth Regiment. 

March 26, 1793. 

Edwards Bucknam, lieutenant-colonel commanding, Lancaster. 

John Young, major first battalion, Lisbon. 

Jabez Parsons, major second battalion, Colcbrook. 

Young retired as major in 1798, when Amos Wheeler of Fran- 
conia was commissioned major of the first battalion. 

1799 and 1800 — Jabez Parsons, Colebrook; Amos Wheeler, first 
battalion, Franconia ; Nathan Barlow, second battalion, Strat- 
ford. 

i8oi-'o2-'o3 — Nathan Barlow, Stratford ; Richard C. Everett, Lan- 
caster; Hopestill Jennison, Lancaster. 

June 4, 1804 — Richard Clair Everettif, Lancaster; Stephen Wilson, 
Lancaster; Jeremiah Fames, Jr., Stewartstown. 

THE WAR WITH SPAIN AND IN THE PHILIPPINES. 

(We are enabled, just as this chapter goes to press (1899) to add 
in this connection names of Lancaster men, so far as ascertained, 
engaged in the Spanish War and its consequent service.) 

John W. Weeks, captain Massachusetts brigade naval militia. 

Harry Hayes, U. S. S. Pawnee. 

Charles Cragie, 71st N. Y. Vol. Inf. 

Alexander Kier, ist N. H. Vol. Inf. 

Fred Fuller, ist N. H. Vol. Inf. 

Ernest Dow, 14th Minn. Vol. Inf. 

Charles French, ist Vt. Vol. Inf. 

Frank Cassady, ist Vt. Vol. Inf. 

*N. H. Prov. Papers, Vol. 7, p. 578 ; N. H. State Papers, Vol 4, pp. 256 and 558. 

t Upon the promotion of Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson, at this time, by reason of the 
removal of Colonel Moray from his command, on account of his identification with the 
"Vermont Movement," and the consequent ]:)rejudicial effect on the regiment, one or 
more vacancies in the field officers resulted, but what appointments or promotions 
resulted is not shown by the records. Major Child was in the same boat as Morey, as 
regards the Vermont affair. Old records mention Hale, by the title of colonel (possi- 
bly lieutenant-colonel). Child would not have been promoted — Hale might have been ; 
there is doubt concerning such promotion, however. 

\ New Hampshire State Papers, Vol. 8, p. 928. 

§ New Hampshire State Papers, Vol. 20, p. 261. 

II New Hampshire State Papers, Vol. 22, pp. 738-740. 

T[ In 1805 Coos county was organized according to the act of 1803 establishing it, and 
December 13, 1804, that part of Grafton outside the limits of the new county that had 
been included in the Twenty-fourth regiment was " set off " for the Thirty-second regi- 
ment. The militia of Coos remained the Twenty-fourth regiment, mustering annually 
alternately at Lancaster and Colebrook until 1S40, when that part in the present southern 
judicial district of Coos was assigned to the Forty-second regiment, and so remained 
until the abolition of the militia system in 1850. 




Main Street, aijove Lancaster House, il 




Main Street, above Court-house, 1868. 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 563 



Patrick McRae, Mass. Vol. Inf. 
Frank McRae, Mass. Vol. Inf. 
Thomas Hopkins, 26th U. S. Vol. Inf. 
Isaac McGoff, 26th U. S. Vol. Inf. 
Elwyn R. Marsh, 46th U. S. Vol. Inf. 
Henry C. Whittier, 46th U. S. Vol. Inf. 
George W. Foshey, 46th U. S. Vol. Inf. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN 

OF LANCASTER. 

[Being a reprint of the essential parts of the "Centennial Pamphlet" of 1864, — "J. M. 
W. Yerrington, Reporter. Published by Edward Savage, Bookseller."] 

In accordance with a notice extensively circulated by a committee 
of the citizens of Lancaster, the one hundredth anniversary of the 
settlement of this town was celebrated on Thursday, July 14, 1864. 
Invitations had been extended to very many of the former residents 
of the town, now scattered throughout the broad Union, to revisit 
their early home, and take part in the exercises of the occasion. To 
these invitations a large number responded in person or by letter. 
Among the prominent gentlemen from abroad were Hon. Edward 
D. Holton, of Milwaukee, Wis.; John B. Brown, Esq., of Portland, 
Me. ; Nathaniel White, Esq., of Concord, and I. B. Gorham, Esq., 
of St. Johnsbury, Vt. 

A national salute, fired from two old field pieces, taken from the 
British by Stark, at Bennington, the display of flags and the ringing 
of bells, ushered in the day. At an early hour the stream of travel 
from the neighboring towns, on both sides of the river, commenced, 
and soon the usually quiet town presented an animated and holiday 
aspect. In the village itself all labor was suspended, and the people 
gave themselves up to the unrestrained enjoyment of the day, and 
the exercise of a general and cordial hospitality. 

The day was one of enchanting loveliness. Nature, with radiant 
smiles, welcomed her truant children, returning from crowded city 
or town to her motherly embrace, and fanned them with the breath 
of gales that " winnowed fragrance round the smiling land." Well 
might these wanderers from the lovely valley where their youth was 
cradled repeat the lines of Gray, on revisiting Eton : 

Ah, happy hills! ah, pleasing shade ! 

Ah, fields beloved in vain ! 
Where oft my careless childhood strayed 

A stranger yet to pain ; 



564 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

1 feel the gales that round ye blow 
A momentary bliss bestow ; 

As waving fresh their gladsome wing, 
My weary soul they seem to soothe, 
And redolent of joy and youth, 

To breathe a second spring. 

A procession was formed at 9 : 30 o'clock, on the south side of Elm 
street, the right resting tipon Main, which soon after ten o'clock 
moved in the following order : 

Aid. Marshal-in-Chief. Aid. 

Lancaster Cornet Band, Lt. Albert F. Whipple, leader. 

North Star Commandery of Knights Templar, ' 

Sir Kt. J. L Williams, commander. 

Aid. North Star Lodge No. 8, A. F. & A. M., Aid. 

B. F. Hunking, W. Master. 

Engine Company, No. i . 

State and Town officials. 

Aid. Committee of Arrangements. Aid. 

Officers of the Day and Committees. 

President of the Day. 

Distinguished Visitors in carriages. 

County officials and Government officers. 

Soldiers bearing the National Flag. 

Venerable settlers and residents of the Town, in carriages. 

The Reverend Clergy. 

Lancaster Glee Club. 

Aid. The Sabbath Schools Aid. 

connected with the various churches. 
Aid. Citizens of Lancaster. Aid. 

Aid. Citizens of other towns. Aid. 

Appropriate banners and flags were displayed by the several 
societies, and the glorious stars and stripes, conspicuously exhibited 
at several points, thrilled the heart w-ith their patriotic associations. 

The route of the procession was up Main street to the Lancaster 
House, where the president of the day, with other distinguished 
guests, was received ; thence up Main to North, and down again to 
the space adjoining the Congregational church, where the literary 
exercises were to take place, a window having been removed from 
the north side of the church, and a temporary platform erected that 
all, both inside and out, might have an opportunity to see and hear. 

The church was soon crowded to its utmost capacity, and the 
space adjoining well filled by a large company waiting the com- 
mencement of the exercises. The number present was variously 
estimated at from two to three thousand. Inside the church several 
of the most venerable citizens occupied the front seats. Among them 
were Emmons Stockwell, Reuben G. Freeman, Francis Wilson, 
Douglass Spaulding, Ephraim Stockwell, Spencer Clark, William 
Holkins, Benjamin Hunking, and Beniah Colby. 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 565 

At 1 1 o'clock the exercises were commenced with music by the 
cornet band, at the conclusion of which Colonel Kent, chief marshal, 
said : 

My friends, I regret to commence the exercises of the day by making excuses 
or apologies ; but it is necessary I should do so, in order to a correct understand- 
ing of the remaining part of the programme. It was thoroughly understood that 
Colonel Farrar, of Oregon, was to deliver the oration, and he gave me his per- 
sonal pledge, on the 5th inst., that he would be here without fail. He was in 
Washington a few days ago, and the recent rebel incursion into Maryland, sun- 
dering the connection between that city and the rest of the country, has, I 
suppose, rendered it impossible for him to be here. Several gentlemen, who 
were invited, and also expected to be present. His Excellency, Governor Andrew, 
of Masaachussetts and His Excellency, Governor Gilmore, of this state, among 
others, have found it impossible for them to be here, in consequence of the busi- 
ness that has been thrust upon them from the same cause — the rebel raid. I 
have received letters from several of these gentlemen, which will be read at the 
proper time. 

But I am happy to say, that on this anniversary of the settlement of our good 
old town, we are not to be without speakers who will entertain us. There are 
gentlemen present from abroad, who, having served their country honorably in 
posts of danger, have come back to join with tliose who remain at home in cele- 
brating this glorious anniversary, and others, who, in civil life, have honored by 
their success the town of their nativity. From them, you will be glad to hear. I 
take pleasure in saying that the programme at the dinner will be fully carried out. 

And now, fellow-citizens, I am happy in introducing to you the president of the 
day, Hon. David H. Mason, a Lancaster boy, whom yon will rejoice to welcome 
here to-day, who will preside on the occasion, and will address you, in the 
absence of the orator. 

Rev. David Perry, of Brookfield, Vt., then invoked the divine 
blessing upon all the proceedings of the day, after which the follow- 
ing song, written for the occasion by Henry O. Kent, Esq. (music 
by L. O. Emerson of Boston), was sung by the Glee club in a most 
acceptable manner : 

The mountains look down in their grandeur and pride. 

On the home of our childhood to-day ; 
On the wandering children who roamed from their side 

To gather rare flowers by the way. 
They're united again in the dear old town, 

'Mong the streams and the woods of yore. 
They have fought well the fight for gold and renown, 

And they turn to their childhood's door. 

There are those who have lingered around the old home. 

While their brethren were far in the strife ; 
Who have tilled the old fields through the years that are flown. 

In the quiet and comfort of life ; 
These welcome ye back with hearts full of joy, 

A joy that commingles with pride, 
As they greet with warm fervor each wandering boy 

To the town where his forefathers died. 



566 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

We gather to-day among scenes so endeared, 

To crown with the fame of her sons, 
The time-silvered locks of the mother revered, 

While an hundred long winters have flown ; 
- To wreathe a full chaplet of daughters' warm love 

'Mid the silvery sheen of her hair, 
As enduringly pure as the azure above 

That smiles on an homage so fair. 

Welcome home, from the East and the West and the South, 

Welcome home, on this dear natal day ; 
The kiss of some loved one is warm on each mouth ; 

Ye have tarried a long time away. 
Welcome home, and forgetting the wearying care 

That compassed the pathway ye trod, 
Throw off the chill years and be young again here, 

In the smile of a love born of God. 

Welcome home, to each spot so remembered of yore, 

Welcome home, to each love that endures ; 
Gather strength for the journey that stretches before. 

Ere our sails leave these vanishing shores. 
Go forth from among us with tokens of love. 

Glad burdens each journey to crown ; 
So shall memory's banquet be spread as ye rove 

From the home that's behind ye — our dear old town. 

The Preshjent. We will commence with the opening chapter 
of the history of Lancaster. I therefore call upon Ossian Ray, Esq., 
to read the charter of the town. 

Mr. Ray. Mr. President : The original document is not to be 
had upon this occasion. Whether it was deposited, like some 
ancient charters that we read of in history, in the hollow of a tree in 
this town, or elsewhere, and has thus been lost, I know not. But 
we have, at any rate, 2ifac simile of the original document, nearly 
as old as that. I propose to read from that copy. 

[Published elsewhere in this volume.] 

The President. This is a day of jubilee, and I propose to call 
for three cheers for the quaint old charter. My friend, the chap- 
lain, says it is all right, even in a meeting-house. Col. Kent will 
lead off in the cheers. 

The audience responded to this call with three hearty cheers, 
which was followed by another song, entitled " Our Lancaster," 
written by Mrs. Mary B. C. Slade. (This song, also, was set to 
music by Mr. Emerson.) 

The sturdy tree of Pilgrim stock 
Its root had struck 'neath Plymouth Rock ; 
And sweet savannahs smiled to see 
The Coming of the Chivalry ! 



CENTENNIAL- CELEBRATION. 5^7 

When, turning from the vales of ease, 
On lowlands washed by sunny seas, 
With heart of hope, a noble band, 
Came toiling up our mountain land. 

Through dark pine forests. North and West, 
The warwhoop rushed across their rest. 
While creeping up the eastern sky, 
The British thunder cloud drew nigh. 
But Coos smiled, the meadows rang, 
Siwoogannock sweet echoes sang ; 
And circling hills and placid wave 
Their welcome and protection gave. 

Here, loyal sons, your patriot sires 

Enkindled Freedom's altar-fires ; 

The fathers' watchword ours shall be, — 

The Union, God, and Liberty! 

Here grew they free and strong and brave. 

Till fierce Oppression crossed the wave ; 

Ask storied battlefields how, then. 

For Freedom stood the mountain men ! 

The Aloe drinks the sun and rain. 
Nor blooms her answer back again. 
Till, lo! a flowery crown she wears. 
The blossom of an hundred years. 
The mountain winds, the valley's stream. 
The winter's snow, the summer's gleam, 
■ A hundred years have brought to her 
To-day's bright bloom, our Lancaster ! 

Where, long ago, the Indian found 
A resting-place and hunting ground, 
To beauty's pilgrims rest we lend. 
Ere they to snow-capped heights ascend. 
God of the Mountains! bless our home, , 
While through its paths to thee we come ; 
Till o'er its purpled heights we see 
The White Hills of Eternity ! 

ADDRESS OF HON. DAVID H. MASON. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : A hundred years ago, the last act in the drama of the 
French and Indian war had just closed. France and Spain had ceded all claimed 
rights to the possession of territory east of the Mississippi river, and England 
held undisturbed sway in the vast country, stretching from the Gulf to the Arctic 
sea, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. 

The last great struggle of the native Indians to recover their hunting grounds 
was over. The brave Pontiac, with his five and twenty Indian tribes, scattered 
all along from the Shenandoah to the great lakes, and down the Ohio to the very 
banks of the Mississippi, over the mountains and through the prairies, had buried 
the tomahawk and scalping-knife, and smoked the pipe of peace. 

At the first dawn of security the indomitable sons of the Pilgrims plunged into 
the wilderness with their a.xes and their rifles, to plant new homes for themselves 
and their posterity. 



568 HISTORY or Lancaster. 

On the 19th of April, A. D. 1764, Captain David Page, liis son David Page, 
Jr., about 18 years of age, and Emmons Stockwell, witli perhaps one or two 
others, having puslied up the Connecticut valley from Petersham, Massachusetts, 
through the town of Haverhill, reached the spot where we now are. They were 
charmed by the natural loveliness of this valley, and their fondest desires were 
gratified. Standing on yonder elevation, with those majestic mountains behind 
them, the unrivaled Pilot range on their right hand and the green hills on their 
left, with those bald sentinels guarding the passage before them, they gazed down 
into this paradise of meadows, with the meandering river, like a silver cord, run- 
ning through them, all clothed in the fresh verdure of the opening spring. What 
a heaven was here spread out before them ! With hearts full of gratitude, they 
thanked the God of nature that his mysterious providence had guided them here. 

They came on the 19th of April, a day since made sacred in the nation's 
history ; the day on which was shed the first blood of the Revolution on Lexing- 
ton Green ; the day on which flowed m the streets of Baltimore the first northern 
blood in the War of the Rebellion ; the same day on which was founded the first 
Normal school in the new world, that crowning glory of our system of popular 
education. It was fortunate for our ancestors that they came to this valley, and 
that was a fortunate birthday for our beautiful town. 

The war for existence had passed ; the war for principle was approaching. 
The North American colonies had cost tlie mother country, at the close of the 
French war, nearly seven hundred millions of dollars. Her treasury was 
exhausted by the long and fierce struggle with the continental powers. In look- 
ing about for some way to restore the equilibrium between her magnificence and 
her means, she fell upon the plan to tax these colonies. The right to do this was 
indignantly denied. Her peerless statesman, the immortal Pitt, to whose genius 
and wisdom she owed the chief glories of the eighteenth century — the true friend 
of the colonies — was no longer in office, and the soung king had called to his 
council men of moderate ability. The war of the Revolution followed. 

At the period of its commencement, our town contained but eight families. 
None of its inhabitants joined the army; they were too few in numbers, too far 
from the strife, and were out of sight in the wilderness. Their families were 
exposed to the depredations of the savages, and in common with all the new 
settlements along our northern frontier, they suffered greatly from dangers and 
privations, through that long and bloody war. Their stern duties at home were 
paramount to all public considerations. Thev had, however, in many ways, their 
courage and their patriotism. The dauntless Stockwell was in one of the expeditions 
which went up for the invasion of Canada, during the French war. He was an orphan 
boy in his native town, bound out to service during his minority. In order to encour- 
age enlistments and to fill the ranks of our army, a regulation was made that inden- 
tured apprentices should be entitled to their freedom, if they would enlist in the 
public service. Stockwell, tliough a mere boy, possessed the spirit of a man, and 
took advantage of the provision which gave him his liberty. On his return from 
this unfortunate expedition, with a few stragglers he came down the Connecticut 
river, and for the first time beheld the magnificent valley. Its attractions led him, 
a few years later, with those hardy pioneers, to choose it for his future home. 

Some of the Revolutionary heroes settled in Lancaster after the close of the 
war. I remember very well Major Moses White, of Rutland, Mass. He was a 
true gentleman, of the old Revolutionary school. He had filled many high posi- 
tions in the continental army with ability and honor, and was rewarded by a grant 
from the government, through General Hazen, of the Catbow tract of land in 
Lancaster, where he fixed his residence and passed the remainder of his life. He 
attained very great consideration in his adopted state, and was very widely and 
favorably known. Wherever his duty called him, he never lost his dignity or 
forgot the courtesies of life. 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 5^9 

When our independence was acknowledged and peace was restored, our settle- 
ment began to increase in numbers. But tlie country nowhere prospered as was 
contidently expected. We had no national credit and no commerce to bring us 
trade. Though we were independent upon the land, England was still mistress 
upon the sea, and it soon became apparent if we would prosper as a nation our 
flag must be respected and our commerce built up. The impressment of a tew 
seamen was not of vast public importance, but the great principle that the flag of 
a nation shall protect its citizens on the land and sea was of inestimable value ; 
and for this the second war with England was waged. Its triumph was complete, 
and we came out from that controversy with our honor vindicated and our rights 
established. 

In this second national war our citizens bore an important part. You all 
remember Major John W. Weeks. On the 5th day of July, A. D. 18 [4, by a 
brave and timely movement of his command, he turned the tide of victory at 
Chippewa. He was the captain of the first company, Eleventh regiment of infantry, 
and held the extreme right of our line. Having discovered the enemy advancing 
upon the centre with a heavy column, he threw his command, by a quick move- 
ment, upon their flank, and delivered a destructive fire, which broke their ranks 
and hurled them back in a disastrous retreat, leaving their dead and wounded 
upon the field. He was promoted for his gallantry to the rank of major. He 
came to this town in 1787, when only six years of age. He learned the trade of 
a house-joiner, and received his education from the scanty means the settlement 
afforded. He arose to various high positions in public life, and represented his 
district in congress with credit, at a time in our history when to be in congress 
was an honor, and men of the highest ability and character were chosen to the 
national councils. He was a man of strong and comprehensive mind, a great 
reader and close reasoner. whose opinions and judgment upon public questions 
were respected by our public men in the state and country. 

By his side at Chippewa were other citizens of Lancaster. There was Alpheus 
Hutchins, of whose bravery and bearing I have often heard his commander speak 
in terms of great commendation. There was Benjamin Stephenson, also, who, 
now in a happy old age, is reaping the rich rewards of an honorable life. 

Since the close of the second war the prosperity of the town, as well as of the 
country, for nearly fifty years, has been rapid and uninterrupted. The number of 
its voters and its material wealth have quadrupled, and to-day we find its hills and 
its valleys covered with handsome habitations and an industrious and a happy 
people. ' Would to God that the darkness which now hangs over our national 
prosperity would disappear and reveal a future as propitious as the past ! 

We celebrate to-day the termination of the first century of municipal life. One 
centennial space is filled in the history of Lancaster. We have arrived at a point 
of time convenient for the measurement of our prosperity. Standing, therefore, 
as we do at the end of a century, we can look across the chasm that separates us 
from its beginning, and contrast the difterence in the appearance and condition of 
our town. Forgetting intervening events, we will look into the first years of its 
settlement, and place what we see beside the developments of this day, and mark 
the progress and the change. 

The charters for the towns of Lancaster and of Lunenburg, opposite to us, bear 
the same date, were granted on the same day, to the same person, by the same 
hand ; and these names were given to us in memory of the two towns similarly 
situated, near the early homes of the first settlers in Massachusetts, and thus they 
sanctified their new homes by the fond recollection of those of their youth. The 
whole country was then a dense wilderness ; not a highway had been constructed 
in or to our ancient town. The pioneer settlers found their way by marked trees 
through the woods. They drove before them some twenty head of cattle, with 
bags of salt, provisions, and farming tools fastened on their horns. They erected 



570 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

their first camp on the Holton meadows, and cleared, the first spring, twelve 
acres of land on the old Stockwell place, which they planted with corn. It grew 
so luxuriantly that by the 25th of August it was twelve feet in height and full in 
the milk; but on the fatal night which succeeded, it was utterly destroyed by the 
early frost. Although our town is 800 feet above the sea, in this high latitude 
and in the midst of lofty mountains such a calamity has happened but three times 
in sixty years. Our persevering settlers, not discouraged by this disaster, cut 
their grass on the open lands on Beaver brook, and thus kept their cattle through 
the winter, and were ready to renew the struggles of another year. 

It was many years before any traveled public way was constructed. The near- 
est mill was perhaps at Plymouth, but the most accessible was at No. 4, in the 
town of Charlestown. From that place they brought their meal and grain, travel- 
ing on foot, on horseback, or upon the river in their bark and log canoes, which 
they paddled with wonderful skill ; and many a joyous feast did our ancestors 
have from the rare luxury of brown bread and Indian pudding, the rewards of 
their perilous and arduous journeys. I can almost see the young Mrs. Stockwell 
preparing for some great occasion, sitting before her blazing wood fire, watching 
her baking bannock, which she had spread upon a huge chip, and set up between 
the great andirons, a style of cooking not quite obsolete in this ancient town 
twenty-five years ago. 

The canoes were their only carriages, and were made with their own hands 
from the trunks of huge pines, or from bark peeled from their own trees. They 
were strong enough to be trusted on the deepest waters, and light enough to be 
carried upon their shoulders around the falls, or from pond to pond. The strong 
women rowed tliese same rude barks up and down these rivers, from settlement to 
settlement, from Stockwell's to Bucknam's, or whenever they went out to spend 
the afternoon, or on some errand of business. It will not be supposed that the 
settlers depended upon the food transported from Charlestown for their daily use. 
Their more common food was prepared by means contrived by themselves ; our 
ancestors had no patent for their invention which stood for a mill. Have you 
never heard of the good old-fashioned ''thump?" Emmons Stockwell kept a 
huge mortar, which held about two bushels; into this they put their corn, beans, 
and rye ; then they pounded it with a great wooden pestle, as none but they could 
pound. With this they mixed potatoes, well baked and peeled, and the varieties 
of vegetables their tastes might select, and the whole was baked together into 
magnificent thump. Seasoned with good appetites, it was found a delicious dish 
by the early inhabitants of our glorious old town. 

The tables of these hardy pioneers had other dainties. The rivers and streams 
were full of fishes, and the forest of moose and game ; and our ancestors of both 
sexes could use the rifle and the fishing-rod with astonishing skill. It is some- 
what remarkable that no deer or wolves were found here till long after the coun- 
try was first settled, and it is said there were no eels in the river till the extermi- 
nation of the beaver. But the moose \vere abundant, and were most mercilessly 
slaughtered by the wicked hunters, for the mere pleasure of killing. One Nathan 
Caswell killed ninety-nine in a single season, ana leftmost of them to decay in 
their native woods. All honor to those humane settlers who turned him out of 
their houses as a reward for this ignominious sport. I can never forgive those 
African and South American explorers for their wanton destruction of the noble 
beasts of the forests ; nor can I understand how they can wish to couple the his- 
tory of such exploits with that of their noble discoveries. 

The first mill erected in our town was turned by horse power, and was but little 
better than the old Stockwell mortar. Major Jonas Wilder built the first grist- 
and sawmill. Major Wilder brought his large and very respectable family to 
Lancaster in 1780. He had acquired a little fortune for those days, in his native 
state, and some few years before had purchased here a tract of land one mile 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 571 

square, which included the present burying-ground. In 1779, being chosen on a 
committee to select a public burying-ground, he presented this mound to the 
town, to be used for that purpose. He commenced to build the cellar of the Hol- 
ton house on the famous dark day. The town-meeting was held at his house in 
1779, and he was chosen one of the selectmen, which was his earliest appearance 
on the official records of Lancaster. He was a very valuable accession to this 
settlement, and has left a record of his life of which his descendants may well be 
proud. 

Governor Page, so called by way of distinction merely, never was a resident of 
Lancaster, though named in the charter. He was only a sort of director of 
the settlement, making frequent journeys to visit the new colony, and by his coun- 
sel and his services rendering them great aid in the management of their affairs. 
His daughter, Ruth Page, came here a spinster. On the night of the great frost, 
the 25th of August, 1764, she slept in the woods in Orford. on her way to Lan- 
caster, where she arrived the last of that month. She came to cook the food and 
do the work for the little colony, then more than forty miles from their nearest 
neighbors. She was the first white woman who came to our town. The next 
year she married Emmons Stockwell, and began housekeeping on the old Stock- 
well place. She was then eighteen years of age, and he was twenty-three. They 
lived together more than fifty-five years, and had fifteen children — seven sons and , 
eight daughters — all of whom grew to maturity ; and in her old age Mrs. Stock-A" 
well could call around her one hundred and ninety living descendants, three of 
whom yet survive — Ephraim, Emmons, and John Stockwell — whose combined 
ages are two hundred and forty-seven years. She died at the age of eighty-two ; 
her husband at seventy-eight. David Stockwell, their oldest child, was the first 
son of Lancaster. After a long and useful life, he perished a few years since in 
the conflagration of a portion of his dwelling. 

Edwards Bucknam, a young follower of Governor Page, soon after married 
another of his daughters, and settled at the mouth of Beaver brook, where for 
many years Mr. Benjamin Adams resided. A hunter, named Martin, caught vast 
numbers of beaver, which abounded in the stream running through these mead- 
ows. The ingenious hunter gave his name to the meadows, and the ingenious 
animals to the stream they occupied. Bucknam was an accomplished surveyor, a 
man of unbounded hospitality, and of great usefulness to the colony. He could 
" let blood," "draw teeth," and perform the marriage service before the minister 
and doctor arrived. He did the business of the colony which required education. 
He laid out a large portion of the town, and many of the highways. At the 
beginning of the present century there was a very good road leading up the river 
by his residence. In a few years the settlers in that vicinity crept back from 
Martin's meadows, and cleared off the hills behind them. They all lived in log 
huts, quite rudely constructed, with roofs made of bark. They had no school, 
and what to them was an infinitely greater hardship, no place of worship. Buck- 
nam had six children, from whom have descended the Moores, the Howes, the 
Mclntires, and Bucknams. His daughter Eunice, the first child of Lancaster, was 
born in 1767. 

David Page, the son of the governor, so called, came herewith the first settlers, 
married his cousin, of Haverhill, and had thirteen children. The Page family 
were highly respectable. Any alliance with them was honorable. It was not so 
difficult for Stockwell and Bucknam, poor as they were, and lowly as their condi- 
tion had been, to marry into high life. The young ladies, so elevated in society 
and beautiful in person, could have had no better overtures in this settlement than 
those, which the young gentlemen were emboldened to make and the young ladies 
to accept, because it was plainly the only change to which they seemed eligible. 

Stockwell possessed prodigious strength, and was capable of great endurance. 
He could not read or write till he was taught by his accomplished wife. He had 



572 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

a firm and vigorous mind, with a large sliare of common sense. In the days of 
the Revolution he was the salvation of the colony. The hardsliips and dangers 
which surrounded them, the successive failure of their crops, the capture of two or 
three of the settlers by the hostile Indians, and the stormy future prospects of the 
country, shook the resolution of the settlers, and they met at StockwelPs house to 
discuss the abandonment of the town. The dauntless Stockweil declared, notwith- 
standing these things, " My family and I sha'n't go." He had seen this valley in 
1759, and was enamored with its loveliness. He had chosen it for his home, for 
the better or for the worse, and he knew of no such thing as failure. A few fam- 
ilies rallied around him, and the settlement was saved. 

For many years there were no schoolhouses or schools. Mrs. Stockweil was a 
respectable scholar for those early days. She could read the Psalter, and write 
and cypher very well, and in her own house taught the cliildren of the settlers. 
She had wonderful general capacity, which supplied all the wants of this new 
colony. She was one of those remarkable persons who could do everything that 
was necessary, and did everything well. 

In 1 791 the inhabitants of Lancaster voted to build a meeting-house, and in 
town-meeting chose, as a committee to locate and build it, Col. Edwards Buck- 
nam. Col. Jonas Wilder, Capt. John Weeks, Lieut. Emmons Stockweil, Lieut. 
Joseph Brackett, Lieut. Dennis Stanley, and Capt. David Page. From the military 
titles of the committee, one would expect great dispatch in this work ; but the 
structure was not completed for some years afterward. Taxes were assessed, pay- 
able in wheat, rye, and corn, labor, and lumber at certain fixed prices, to aid in 
its construction. In 1794 the first town-meeting was held in this meeting-house. 
Previous to this date they met at private houses to transact their business, and, as 
their numbers increased, selected larger houses. Colonel Wilder's splendid new 
mansion answered well till the meeting-house was ready. 

There was no regular preaching of the gospel, and no settled minister, till the 
eighteenth of September, 1794, when the Rev. Joseph Willard was settled here as 
pastor over a church "gathered" in July previous, consisting of twenty-four per- 
sons. He presided over the religious affairs of the town for twenty-eight years. 
He had been in the Continental army through the Revolutionary War. He had a 
noble, commanding presence, a firm and measured step, which he preserved 
through his lifetime. You may all thank God tliat in his providence he sent to 
the town of Lancaster such a man as Joseph Willard. He was a noble specimen 
of goodness and religious faith ; was wise in counsel, learned in doctrine, and full 
of true charity and grace. Ail honor to the memory of the Rev. Joseph Willard. 

The church was an imposing structure for those days. It was erected upon the 
plain, on the very brow of the hili just south of the village. It had a tower at the 
west end, with two porches for entrance, and a broad entrance on the side. It 
had a high gallery, a lofty pulpit crowned with a high sounding-board, and, what 
is yet more characteristic, the seats were all so arranged in the square pews that 
they could be raised during prayer, when the congregation stood up, and when 
the prayer was over would fall, one after another, with a horrible clatter. The 
old church has passed away, or rather been moved away, down the hill, disman- 
tled of all its sacredness, and made into a house of merchandise, except the 
pleasant room which rejoices in the name of the town hall. Even its foundations 
have been dug away; not a vestige of the long flight of stairs now remains, and 
the places that knew it shall know it no more forever. It will only live hereafter 
in the songs and chronicles of its exterminators. 

It was many years after the first settlement of the town before schoolhouses 
were erected. I tliink the church preceded the schoolhouse. It was some years 
before they built even framed huts with a single room. The Stockweil and Buck- 
nam houses, of very moderate proportions, on the old homesteads, you will 
remember. The two first splendid mansions, as they then called them, were the 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 573 

famous Holton house and the old Wilson tavern, at the north end of the street. 
The latter, and the little red cottage on the opposite side of the street, below it, 
were the two first painted houses in Lancaster. 1 think a portion of the present 
Stockwell house and the Holton mansion are all that now remain of those very 
old structures. 

The first town-meeting which assembled in Lancaster was at the house of David 
Page, in 1769. Capt. Thomas Burnside was moderator; Edwards Bucknam was 
chosen clerk, to which office he was reelected for twenty-one years. They chose 
five selectmen. Unfortunately, the dwelling-house of Mr. Bucknam was destroyed 
by fire in 1772, and with it perished the town records to that year. It is well 
known that Bucknam and Stockwell, Page, Wilder and Weeks, composed the 
town government for nearly thirty years. The salary of the " settled minister" 
was fixed at fifty pounds, one third of which was payable in cash and two thirds in 
produce. This was to increase as the inventory of the town increased, till it 
reached eighty pounds. 

The first lawyer in Lancaster was Richard C. Everett. He was born in Provi- 
dence, R. I., and was left an orphan early in life. He was at one time, during 
the Revolutionary War, a servant of General Washington. He came to Lancaster 
in October, 1787, and with two other hardy men cut out the road through the 
Notch for the purpose of transporting salt to upper Coos. He saved his earnings, 
and went through Dartmouth college ; studied law in New York and at Haverhill, 
in this state, and in 1793 began practice here. He rose to be district judge, and 
to a high position as a sound and honorable man, and has left a spotless character 
in the memory of men. 

The first bridge erected was the old Stockwell bridge, across Isreals river, and 
the right to cross it first was put up at auction, and bid off" by Emmons Stockwell 
for five gallons of brandy, which cost him forty-two shillings a gallon. 

It was many years before any wheelwrights or wheels were found in Lancaster. 
The early settlers transported their merchandise upon two long poles, fastened 
together by a cross-piece. One end answered for shafts, to which the horse was 
attached, the other dragged upon the ground. It was similar in construction to 
the modern truck, without the wheels. There are many present who will remem- 
ber the caravans of farmers who, every winter, carried their produce to the Port- 
land market in sleighs, where they purchased their annual supply of luxuries for 
domestic use ; and they will remember, too, their adventures and frolics, when, 
snow-bound on the journey, they were compelled to wait, sometimes for days, till 
the fierce storms were over and the roads were passable. 

I have thus given you, to-day, only the outlines of a picture of Lancaster a hun- 
dred years ago. The same heavens are indeed over our heads, the same moun- 
tains wall in the valley, and the same river winds gracefully through the meadows, 
but all else, how changed ! It will not be thought invidious, on an occasion 
entirely our own, to say, in compliment to ourselves, that we may defy the world 
to produce a lovelier village, or more beautiful farms, or a better and happier 
people, than are found in our noble town ; and with its natural scenery, embracing 
mountains and valleys, rivers and lakes, what spot is there on the earth of which 
we could feel prouder, and to which we could return with more delight? And how 
can we wonder, as the summer approaches, that men leave the great cities, their 
business and their homes, to look on this scenery, and breathe the air of these 
mountains, and drink their inspirations? 

It may not be unprofitable to enter the chasm between the bounds of our cen- 
tury, and learn something of the causes of our municipal growth and success. We 
owe much, my friends, to the morality of our community. I am inclined to think 
that the theology of our early days was derived, in some measure, from the great 
Doctor Wheelwright, who, banished from Massachusetts, settled in the vicinity of 
Exeter, and there led the religious development of our northern New England. 



574 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

He was a little more tolerant and less bigoted than the full-blooded Puritan, but 
just as firm in his faith and unyielding in his opinions. They tried and Iimig the 
witches; he only tried \.\\&xa.. He had a mantle of charity, small as it was; they 
had none at all, and gloried in their severity. I am inclined to believe that we 
have enjoyed a softer persecution between religious sects, a more tolerant theology, 
for which we are indebted to this gifted preacher. 

We owe much to the richness of our soil. The first settlers of this town 
regarded the productions of their meadows in their earliest cultivations as wonderful. 
The grass grew so luxuriantly that rakes were in disuse, and the pitchfork was 
only needed to gather up the enormous crops. All kinds of vegetation, when the 
spring was open, came forward with such rapidity, and with such a wealth of verdure, 
as they had never known before ; and if a market were lying at your doors, to 
stimulate the use of modern applications to bring forward vegetation earl}-, your 
meadows would now find no rivals in their productiveness and value. 

We owe much to natural scenery ; and in this connection I will only say that 
the early settlers had a quick eye for the beautiful. I cannot help thinking that 
one of our oldest inhabitants — Mr. Edward Spaulding, a descendant of the famous 
Mrs. Dustin — who was brought here, when a mere child, in his mother's arms, 
afterward fixed his residence on the spot where he lived and where he died, because 
of the exceedingly lovely landscape there spread out before him ; and there is not 
a single spot in our beautiful town which exceeds in beauty that where Spaulding 
lived. He was a noble and generous man, too good ever to be unkind. He has 
gone to his repose, and left an honored memory. 

I need not apologize for the distinction in saying to you now, that I believe we are 
largely indebted to the energy and principle, the faith and the works of Stockwell and 
Bucknam, for the prosperity and real value of our ancient town. They were good, 
and, in their way, great men. In our country, great and manly qualities are 
found in every class and condition of men. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty 
furnish most of the profligacy and licentiousness of society. Its chief strength, 
health, and vigor are derived from the great middle classes, which represent the 
labor and the sound judgment of the country. I have often heard it said that the 
race of great men is dying out in our land. This is not the fact ; but great ability 
seeks now the avenues of trade, commerce, and agriculture, because they yield a 
better reward than statesmanship, or the professions, and men of second-rate 
ability, with more cunning than wisdom, have been permitted to stand in the 
places of the giants of former years. You will recognize in the names of the 
descendants of these pioneers the large part they have borne in our material 
wealth and prosperity. How large a portion of our population can look back 
with distinguished pleasure to these, their worthy ancestors ! Almost all of their 
descendants have settled among us. They have falsified the truth of history, 
which declares that a stock of virtue in a family will run out in three generations ; 
for the great qualities of these first settlers have come down through their chil- 
dren to this day unimpaired. All honor to the names of those noble pioneers; 
and to the memory of that brave and noble-hearted woman, who, at that tender 
age, came through the wilderness to aid the infant settlement, and nursed it for 
more than threescore years into life and prosperity, and left such a long list of 
mourning descendants, we pay our grateful homage. 

W'e owe much of our prosperity to the little academy standing there bv the 
graveyard, in its new dress to-day, which I have never seen before. It shows 
that it is prosperous, and that the old ancestral fires have not yet gone out. I 
tell you, seriously, that the education found within its walls for the past thirty 
years, for all the practical uses of life, has been not much inferior to that of our 
colleges; and in proof of what I say, I adduce the history and success of its 
numerous graduates, both men and women, to show how well, in practice and in 
fact, they have stood l:)eside those who received their education in our great 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 575 

schools and universities. Having received here the best instruction in elemen- 
tary studies, the student has gone out into the world as well prepared for the 
struggles of life, and to advance alone in the higher walks of attainment, as is 
commonly the case where they have pursued a regular course of college education. 
Our students have studied here in maturer life, with firmer health and better con- 
stitutions. They have taken in and appropriated what they have learned. It 
has formed their characters and given shape and vigor to their minds. I know 
it may be said they are deficient in higher literary culture, which gives a finish to 
education. I grant this ; but they have here gained the strength and will to 
climb alone to higher and more rugged ways in after life, and through their lives, 
than any mere refinement of schools or colleges could give them. I do not, by 
this, mean to give any preference for the mere culture of earlier days, or to reflect 
upon that of our own ; but I do mean to say that the times and ways of business 
have pressed upon us the necessity of educating our youths at too early an age, 
and that elementary studies are too much neglected ; so that we lose more in 
strength than we gain in advantages. I wish we might retain the great virtues of 
earlier times, to be added to the improvements of more modern systems; and if 
our children do enter upon active life later, they will have more character and 
strength for the duties and perils that await them. Of what benefit is study, if 
the knowledge we get is not our own, and does not in some way enter into the 
character of the man? The little particles of matter absorbed by the roots ascend 
through the body to the limbs and leaves, and when purified and prepared, be- 
come a part of the great tree, with its mighty trunk, its broad branches and rich 
foliage. And so is the growth of character from the particles of knowledge, 
experience, and truth, which, under the blessing of Almighty God, are gathered 
up in life. 

My friends, I have thus imperfectly sketched the settlement and condition of 
this ancient town. This is a day of jubilee. We welcome home her children. 
The citizens of the town have opened their houses and their hearts, and bid you 
welcome. You can here see the old familiar faces you left behind you, the pic- 
tures on the walls, the old curtains by the windows, the crockery on the table. 
They will recall to your minds pleasant reminiscences of your earlier days ; they 
will fill the canvas of memory with images of the past ; they will speak to you of 
childhood, and you will live over again, in a few brief hours, childhood's happy 
days. In yonder mound, formed by the hand of Nature for a country church- 
yard, repose the ashes of our fathers; and the green turf of the new-made graves 
tells us of some fresher griefs. Sadness and joy, sorrow and gladness, are 
strangely commingled in a day like this. But such is the lesson of life; its little 
history is filled with events of which the experience of this day is but a brief epi- 
tome. When we again leave these homes of childhood, may we go with fresh 
strength and firmer wills to the performance of all the duties of life; and as gene- 
ration after generation shall come and go in future centuries, may the virtues of 
our ancestors never be forgotten, and may peace and prosperity forever dwell in 
this lovely valley ! 

The President. — I see here to-day a gifted son of Lancaster. 
I refer to Hon. Edward D. Holton of Wisconsin. The audience are 
waiting to hear him. 

ADDRESS OF MR. HOLTON. 

Mr. Chairt/iati, and Ladies and Gentlemen : 

The first thing I desire to do here to-day (although it was not upon my pro- 
gramme when I left home), is to thank King George the Third.- I never heard 
the magnificent charter of this old town read before, and I come here to thank 



576 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

that good old king, — we called him "good" in those days, though we did not 
like him a few years after, and had a good round turn with him, — 1 come here to 
thank him that, among other things, he laid down grand laws for the government 
of this town. How wise was that provision which granted a tract of land for the 
support of the ministry! Parson Willard enjoyed the benefits of that provision 
up there on his farm ; and the benefits were mutual. Although the Puritans dif- 
fered with him in some matters, yet there was the grand, magnificent fact, — a 
gospel for man ; the great foundation principle of man's progress and welfare. 

Mr. Chairman, the grand tribute which you have just paid to the memory of 
Stockwell and Page and Bucknam most thoroughly agrees with all that I have 
heard of those noble men. There were other men, it seems, who came to Lan- 
caster with them ; but it remained for Stockwell, particularly, as the learned ora- 
tor has told us, to stay the infant settlement. I am told that the first year the 
corn grew well for a time, and the people, who had lived upon suckers and clams 
taken out of the river, were looking with hope and confidence to the little patches 
of corn in the meadows; but the frost came in August and killed it all, and with 
it destroyed all their hopes. Several of those men then said: " It is no use to 
live in this country. Here are beautiful meadows and streams, to be sure ; the 
aspects of nature are grand, but food man must have, and here, right in the 
midst of summer, it is all cut off, and we cannot live here; we must leave you." 
Stockwell said: "I shall not go back, and I beg you not to go back." "We 
must go back." "Well, I shall stand here. I will go into the woods and kill 
the wild beasts in winter. I will stand here on the spot." And stand he did. 

Mr. Chairman, it is a blessed thing, growing out of our English character, this 
love of home, — this grand old Saxon idea of home. When I got your message, 
bidding me come here from a thousand miles away, I was so circumstanced that 
it was exceedingly difiicult for me to leave. But I remembered my early home ; 
I remembered that here was the place of my birth, and though I had traveled far 
and seen many flourishing communities, and been cognizant of numerous settle- 
ments tiiat had sprung from the wilderness, as Lancaster did, still none of these 
had taken the place of that loved home, and though I got off from a sick bed, my 
heart bounded with joy when I turned my face homeward. When I got to Chi- 
cago I met Jim and Nat and Selden (three of the White brothers), and as we 
rode along we talked and laughed and joked and were like boys again. What a 
ride was that ! When we went out we had to journey a thousand miles, through 
a country much of it occupied by savages ; we had to walk or ride on horseback 
a great part of the way, and now on our return we came careering on twenty- five 
miles an hour, so that in fifty hours we spanned the thousand miles between our 
far Western homes and this our natal spot. 

As we were riding along in Canada a gentleman who sat behind me called my 
attention to a range of mountains across the magnificent St. Lawrence, and said: 
" Those mountains look splendidly. Do you know whether they are in New York 
or in Vermont? " " Well," said I, "I do n't think we have got down to the Ver- 
mont line yet; I think they must be in New York." "Well," said he, "they 
look good to me. I haven't seen any mountains for ten years. I was born 
among the mountains." "Ah! where were you born?" ''I was born in New- 
Hampshire." "What town in New Hampshire?" (I always claim kindred with 
New Hampshire people wherever I meet them. I claim them as cousins, and 
generally kiss the women — feeling at liberty to do that.) 

The President. — I warn my friend not to come coiisinmg down 
to Boston in his way. (Laughter.) 

Mr. Holton (resuming).— " Well," said he, "I was born in Lancaster." 
"Indeed! that is my native town, sir. Pray tell me your name." "My name 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 577 

is Derby." " Indeed ! 30U are a descendant of Isaac Derby." " Yes," said he, 
" my father was Andrew Derby." " Indeed ! and your mother was Mary Green- 
leaf." "Yes." "Ah, I went to school to your mother, Mary Greenleaf." 
Where do you live?" "At Cedar Rapids, Iowa." "What is your busi- 
ness?" "I am a merchant there; I sell books." He had made his way through 
the states as hundreds of others have done, as a schoolmaster, and finally found 
himself located in that magnificent country, the most beautiful that human eyes 
ever rested upon, — the valley of the Cedar river — and has carried out there, from 
the old hearthstone, the fires that shall now be planted by him, in his turn, in 
that new country. He said there was another Lancaster boy on the train, and 
presently he brought him along and introduced him as a Chessman boy. Thus 
we met, children of this good old town, and recalled the pleasant memories of 
bygone times. 

I do not know that I am right, but it has always seemed to me that Lancaster 
was a better town than Percy (formerly Stark) or Guildhall (I hope our friends 
from those towns will pardon me), and I have often reflected what it was that thus 
distinguished my native town. I believe all that the learned orator has said in 
regard to the influence of Lancaster to be true ; but what are the causes that have 
produced this influence? It will be profitable for us to consider that question as 
we meet here to-day. He has said that Mrs. Stockwell was the mother of fifteen 
children, and counted, before her death, one hundred and ninety descendants. 
Why did you not clap your hands when he made that statement? There is not 
so honorable a person in the world as she who gives human life. Stockwell and 
David Greenleaf, who had twenty-one children, ought to have monuments to 
their memory. 

The President. — Their children are their monuments. " These 
are their jewels." 

Mr. Holton continued. — What are the principles that produced these results? 
Mrs. Stockwell was a model woman. She not only read the Psalter, as the orator 
has told you, but in the absence of a settled minister, she drew the people 
around her, in her own house, to hear that great principle which stands first 
related to human welfare, namely, obedience to God. 

But it is not alone of those early people, of whom I know nothing except from 
hearsay, that I would speak. I come down to people within my own memory, a 
goodly company. I remember Parson Willard well. So stately was he, so 
august his manner, so magnificent his bearing, that we boys were rather afraid 
of him. I recollect that I used to run across the street when I saw him coming. 
But that fear did not keep us quiet in meeting, and sometimes we received a 
pointed rebuke from the pulpit, or the deacon came up into the gallery to pinch 
our ears. (Laughter.) But who shall measure the influence and power of such 
a man? He stamjDed his influence upon all who came around him. Every man 
and woman — even those who did not go to his church — felt it. Nor was he the 
only man who exerted an abiding influence for good. I well remember when 
other good men came here. I came back in the days when Rev. Mr. Peck was 
here, and other men of the same class. And what a power were those men in 
this community, even in the last half of this century,— Peck and Hilburn and 
Orange Scott and Wheelock ! And, by the way, Mr. Wheelock lives out in Wis- 
consin now, nearly ninety years of age, and an efiicient man he has been for 
twenty-five years in every good and noble work in that state. I have met him 
often in conventions that have had for their object the promotion of the moral and 
religious welfare of the community. We have had energetic men in Lancaster 
and in this neighborhood. The successors of those early settlers, Bucknam and 
Stockwell, were men of power. Here, too, were the Weekses, and old Major 

37 



578 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

White (my friend has done no more than justice to that glorious man) and old 
Colonel Wilson. These were sterling men ; these were men of force and power, 
and they have left their mark upon the town. 

Then there has been a class of educated men among us. I have often reflected 
upon that. At the upper end ot tiie street, when I was here, there was Pearson, 
there was Farrar, there was a lawyer by the name of Sheafe, a very accomplished 
man. These were men of mark ; these were men who made their influence felt 
in this community. Besides these there was A. N. Brackett, a modest, unas- 
suming man, not a man of education — self-made, almost entirely. My mother, 
who relied upon him for counsel in times of adversity, used to send me down to 
his house, and I always found him reading or studying. I heard him deliver one 
or two orations here. I remember him as a man of great philanthropy, emi- 
nently just and patriotic, and a good man in the community. What a man of 
power was John W. Weeks! I remember meeting him on one occasion, and he 
laid his hand on my head and said : " Young man, you are one of Mrs. Helton's 
sons, aren't you?" " Yes, sir." " What are you going to do?" " I don't know; 
I shall dig my way along, I suppose." "Why don't you go West? If I had ten 
boys I would spank everyone of them if they did n't go West." (Laughter.) 
That was a blunt remark, but he was a steady, thoughtful, and cautious man. 
Edward Spaulding has been alluded to. I remember him as a most excellent 
man. Then there was William Lovejoy, a neighbor of ours. My recollection of 
him is of the most satisfactory kind. He used frequently to come, with his basket 
in his hand, and saddle-bag of tools on his back, to his day's work as carpenter 
and joiner, I have seen him many times wheeling his bushel of corn down to the 
mill to be ground. I recollect him as a man of singular beauty and dignity of 
character. How did virtue stand out in his life, and how is it seen streaming 
along down through a goodly family! I want to say, once more, that the lives of 
such men fill the world with goodness. Well have I known some members of 
this family. I wanted, above all things, to see John Lovejoy here to-day, and 
exceedingly regret that I cannot. 

Now, how has it been with those sons of Lancaster who have gone out from 
this valley to try their future in other parts of the land? So far as I can reckon 
them up, and I have endeavored to keep an eye on a few of them, they have done 
tolerably well. Perhaps I may be permitted to say, leaving the two speakers on 
this occasion out, that, so far as I know, none of them have gone to the state 
prison (laughter), none of them have dishonored their town. On the other hand, 
many of our Lancaster men have ornamented the various walks of life. If you 
want to buy any sugar go to Portland and buy of Mr. Brown. If you want to iDuy 
any clothing, you will find the White boys, at Chicago, fair dealers. If you want 
any scales, go to St. Johnsbury, and buy of Baker, Bingham & Porter. Those 
St. Johnsbury scales have a great reputation ; there is not a merchant on the con- 
tinent who would think he could get along without them, and I believe there are 
no better scales in the world ; but I think they would have failed without our 
Lancaster boys, Oliver Baker, Chandler Porter, and Mr. Bingham. Then we 
have a distinguished representative of Lancaster on the bench, in the person of 
Judge Woodruff; so, if you have suits to be tried, try them before him. If you 
want a lawyer, go to Oregon and get Farrar ; but be sure you get him here before 
your suit comes on! (Laughter.) 

Mr. Chairman, the hours are rapidly passing away. I shall not trespass much 
longer upon your patience. There is a long list of names that I have run over in 
my mind, as those of men particularly worthy of mention on an occasion like this ; 
but, in the hasty remarks that I have made, many of them have slipped from my 
memory. These men deserve to be remembered and honored, for they laid broad 
and deep the foundations of pul)lic and private virtue in this town, without which 
the welfare of no community can be secured. Let every man, and especially 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 579 

these young men, understand this, that in this day of our country's peril and our 
country's need, when there is accumulating upon us such a burden of debt, pri- 
vate virtue is the only thing that will shield us in these trying hours. It is the 
virtue of the individual men and women who have lived within her borders that 
has shielded Lancaster in the past ; it is that which has brought us together here, 
and made us joyful beyond measure in the greetings of this centennial day. 

Let me say, in conclusion, that I come home with increasing love for my native 
town. And let me exhort you to stand by the principles of your fathers. I shall 
go back to the West feeling more and more the importance of those principles, 
and feehng called upon to gird myself up, so long as I live, to maintain those 
principles, and help to lay the same foundations that our fathers laid. 

There is one other matter to which I wish to refer. You, sir, alluded to our 
first preceptor, Mr. Wilson. I also want to thank him. They used to thrash us 
most tremendously, those old schoolmasters. No doubt the boys and girls 
needed considerable whipping, but they pounded us most unmercifully. When 
Mr. Wilson came here he turned over a new leaf. He said, " You are gentlemen 
and fine fellows." That pleased us amazingly. We accepted his word, and he 
never had occasion to whip any of us, I think. I want to say that I owe a great 
deal to Mr. Wilson for the noble reformation that he made in this respect. He 
first taught our school here in the old schoolhouse, and then assumed the charge 
of the academy. I had the pleasure of attending just one term at the school and 
then one term at the academy, and I never gained in my life, from any one mind, 
so much benefit as I derived from that gentleman's instruction in those few brief 
months. I have always attributed much of my success in life to the excellent 
ideas and excellent spirit which he inculcated. Be careful, you that are engaged 
in teaching, how you deal with young minds. Learn from him to deal gently, 
kindly with them. To lead is better than to drive. We are all able to speak of 
the excellence of that school, which has existed now the major part of half a cen- 
tury. 

My friends, this is indeed a joyous day. You, sir, spoke of the beauty of 
our town. I come back to testify to the same thing. I have had an opportunity 
to look over this country quite extensively, and I can say that you enjoy one of 
the most favored spots that are to be found in this whole land. So far as healthful- 
ness of climate, soil, and temperature, and the other great elements that go to 
make up the prosperity of any country are concerned, I should scarcely know 
where to go rather than to this very locality. In 1862 I had occasion to travel 
through New England when the land was suffering severely from drouth, and as 
I approached Portland there were a thousand acres on fire'; the roots of the grass 
were being burned up ; all that region was as barren as a desert. I came to Lan- 
caster, and this beautiful valley was green as the garden of Paradise. It is so 
to-day. All through the West we are suffering from a severe drouth. The farm- 
ers are not expecting to get half a crop. Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, are suffering 
dreadfully. But everything here is green and beautiful ; and, take it year by year, 
I do not know where you could go to better your fortunes. Not but that you can 
find magnificent openings in the West, but the man who has got a good home let 
him not sell out that home because he expects to find a better. He may find a 
better one in some respects, but I tell you, look far and long before you part with 
these green fields and these magnificent slopes because of any hearsay story of 
better lands. 

Mr. Chairman, I have trespassed too long upon your patience. We shall not 
meet at Lancaster again at the end of another century. Time, with many of us, 
flies quickly. Let us act well our part, upon the principles that have been sug- 
gested, and whether we meet here again or not, all is well. 



58o HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The Presh^ENT. — My honorable friend has not trespassed upon 
our patience. I would beg leave, however, to make a simple cor- 
rection of one of his remarks. When he spoke of the Lancaster 
boys who had not been to the state prison, he excepted himself and 
excepted me. I desire to relieve him from excepting me. He 
shall enjoy that distinguished honor alone. (Laughter.) 

Another piece of music was then performed by the band, after 
which the procession was reformed and marched to the field a short 
distance south of the church, where a rustic bower of evergreens 
and maples, covering two thirds of an acre, had been constructed, 
affording a pleasant and grateful shade. In this bower tables had 
been spread for two thousand five hundred people, and were abun- 
dantly supplied with substantial and attractive viands, to which the 
large company, filling the capacious bower, did full justice. Prayer 
was offered by Rev. Mr. Fay of the Congregational church, and 
then a half hour or more was spent in discussing the bountiful re- 
past, which was served by a committee of ladies, who devoted them- 
selves assiduously and untiringly to the comfort of their guests. 
The wants of the physical nature having been satisfied, the president 
called the company to order. 

The President. — The ladies are requested, as far as possible, to 
be seated. For the first time in all the world some of them are 
obstructions. (Laughter.) I am not aware of any way by which 
we can contrive to be heard unless the audience remain silent. 

We have a few gentlemen present whose names are prominent in 
our minds, and we shall desire to hear from them, for they must 
have something to say. Having occupied your attention so long this 
morning, I will not preface the exercises here with any remarks of 
my own. I therefore call upon the marshal for the first regular toast. 

Colonel Kent. — In the absence of the toastmaster, various 
toasts, sentiments, and letters have been committed to my care. 

The toasts, as hereafter indicated in italics, were then read, re- 
sponses being made on the call of the president. 

The Officers and Soldiers Present. 

The President. — We have scarcely referred to-day to the mili- 
tary spirit of our ancient town, and yet I think it may be remem- 
bered with pride. There occur to me at this moment the names of 
many of our citizens who have done noble service for their country, 
and I desire to read a little notice, which I find in the Brooklyn 
(N. Y.) Union, of the services of a gallant gentleman whom I see 
before me. 

[This notice referred to the part taken by the Sixty-seventh New 
York, volunteers (First Long Island) in the war, and Col. Nelson 
Cross, its present commander.] 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 58 I 

That is a truthful description of the noble part taken by Colonel 
Cross in the present war. It speaks for itself. I have read it be- 
cause it is a record so honorable. He has been in every fight; he 
has done his duty faithfully, and comes here to-day, having passed 
unharmed through every danger. I now beg leave to call upon 
Colonel Cross, Sixty-seventh New York regiment, for a few re- 
marks. 

SPEECH OF COL. NELSON CROSS. 

Men and Women of Lancaster : I heard of your celebration in the army, some 
weeks before my time expired. I was then so circumstanced that I thought it 
doubtful, in more than one view, whether I should be able to be with you to-day. 
I thought your celebration was to be on the 12th, and I took the evening cars on 
the nth, determined to be here at the close of the exercises, if I could not before. 
But on my way I met some friends on their route, who informed me that it was to 
be on the 14th, and that I was still in time. I was glad to know it. I wished 
to be here, to meet my old friends, and to witness that reunion of Lancaster peo- 
ple which I knew would be so productive of pleasure to us all. I wished to come 
simply to mingle with you as one of your citizens, not to take an active part; and 
when I was asked to address you here, I rather declined. I wished to be a sim- 
ple looker-on. I never felt less like speaking than I do to-day. This coming 
together of old friends — this thronging upon me of old memories, the dearest of 
my life ; this standing amidst the old scenes of my boyhood, is too much for me. 
It utterly unmans me, and unfits me to address you as I should. 

My career in the army has been alluded to. It is true I have been in the army 
for three years. I went there, not because I had been bred to the profession of 
arms, not because I had any liking for that profession, for I had not, but because 
I saw the country in danger, and I felt that the great danger arose from the fact 
that we were not a military nation. We had become one of the greatest commer- 
cial nations on the face of the earth ; we had become a great agricultural people ; 
but we had devoted less time and money to military training, to preparing our- 
selves for human butchery, than any other nation in existence ; and I felt, as a 
citizen, called on to go forth to the field, and I gave up all and went. I spent 
some time in organizing a regiment in Brooklyn, N. Y., where I happened to be 
living, raising and organizing it in opposition to some of the leading politicians 
of the place ; but when I called upon the general government to accept it, they 
thought they did not want it ; they thought they had enough ; seventy-five thou- 
sand men, they thought, were more than sufficient to crush out this rebellion, 
Finally, however, they were prevailed upon to take us. On the 20th of June, 
1 861, we were mustered into the service, and from that time to this we have par- 
ticipated in the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. Further than this, for 
myself, I cannot say. We have done our duty. We have gone wherever we 
have been sent ; we have stayed wherever we have been put. I brought home 
but the fragment of a regiment. That is the saddest part of it all. The soil of 
Virginia has been made sacred in this war as it was never made before. Among 
you, how many there are who have cause to mourn the loss of some relative or 
friend, who has been left on the field, or here, on yonder sacred hill, sleeps 
among his dearest friends, whose career has been cut short by this terrible war, 
which, I fear, is not yet near its end ! 

I have this to say for the citizen soldiers, however, as a general remark : No 
better soldiers ever lived, no braver men ever went forth to battle, than the men 
who have been sent forth by your state and by other states, — men who, from the 
counting-house and the plough, all unskilled in the art of war, sprang to arms 



582 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

when their country was threatened, and went forth, as I said before, to the field. 
They have done all that is vested in human power to do; they have combatted 
an enemy as fearless, as determined, as persistent, as ever an enemy was, and 
have failed to overcome him, simply because they have met him — as a general 
thing — at great disadvantage, and frequently, too frequently, with overpowering 
numbers opposed to them. During the last campaign, we attacked him in his 
fortified positions, and everywhere we found him ready to receive us, and in force 
equal to our own. You wonder, perhaps, why Richmond has not been taken. 
If you had been with me, if you had passed through the scenes I have passed 
through, you would know why Richmond has not been taken, and you would 
know that you have got more to do at home before Richmond can be taken. You 
must make further sacrifices ; more men must go forth to battle. I would it 
were not so. But let us rest where the old Roman rested, on whose sword was 
inscribed, "Draw me not without cause; sheath me not without redress" — on 
patriotism and valor. You have drawn the sword in the most sacred cause in 
which man was ever engaged — the preservation of your liberties. I beg you not 
to sheath that sword until the work is accomplished ; until the power of the rebel- 
lion is crushed, and the country is restored to peace. 

I hope you do not think I am making a political speech. I am no partisan ; I 
have given up party, and I know but one principle, and that is, to stand by the 
country at all times, at all hazards, and under all circumstances. (Applause.) 
When the chairman told me I was to say something to-day, I felt as I have told 
you — utterly unprepared to give voice to the feelings that crowd upon my soul. 
I feel so now. Instead of offering a sentiment to call up some one individual, I 
will conclude with a sentiment which addresses itself to all, which I have pre- 
pared since I was invited to speak, and you will excuse me from saying more now. 
I would say, however, that there is no individual among you who experiences a 
higher pleasure or a sincerer gratitude to God that he is permitted to mingle with 
you to-day than I do. A few years ago, in Milwaukee, I met the gentleman who 
has addressed you (Mr. Holton), and we had some conversation in regard to a 
reunion of Lancaster people ; but the war broke out soon after that, and these 
things were forgotten. But in spite of the war, you determined to bring about 
such a reunion, and I rejoice that you have been so successful in drawing together 
Lancaster people from all parts of the country, and have given occasion to every 
one to rejoice in the embrace of old friends. 

Once again the blooming valley 

Offers up its grateful charms, 
And the circling hills securely 

Fold you in their shielding arms. 

Lo, the mountains ! famous ever 

In the architectural plan, — 
Thus it is that God, the Father, 

Here reveals himself to man. 

In these wondrous works behold him. 

See his image, hear his voice. 
Who hath made the hills to blossom. 

And the mountains to rejoice. 

Reared within these classic borders, 

Edged and tempered for the strife. 
Ye have probed the world's disorders. 

Leading men to better life. 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 583 

Art and science, manifestations 

Of the Infinite and True, 
Ye have spread among the nations, 

Foremost where there's work to do. 

Bring your laurel branches hither. 

Lay them on the altar's hearth ; 
They will keep your memory greener 

In the land that gave you birth. 

The second regular toast was then read : 
The Day We Celebrate. 

The President. — Some years ago, I happened to be traveHng 
through the Western country, and came to the city of Milwaukee. 
It presented a New England appearance. I always find that I can 
trace New England people by the New England houses and scenes 
around them. Take a New England man and cast him into the 
wilderness, and he will sow, as far as he can reach, New England 
principles and habits. On inquiry, I found in that city a New Eng- 
land man, whom they told me was one of the fathers of the place ; 
having lived through its entire history. I remember that only 
thirty years ago Wisconsin was made a territory, and it has been a 
state but fifteen years. I find that it is six times as large as the 
state of New Hampshire, and has 150,000 children in the public 
schools. Who could stand with such prosperity? Who could lead 
and direct it; who create it? Well, my friends, I will show you 
the man who contributed to it largely ; one of my old schoolmates, 
Edward D. Holton. And now, if he is here, I would like to know 
what he has to say about Wisconsin. There was one thing more 
that I saw in Milwaukee. I went down to the market, and found 
there a cart-load of salmon trout floundering about, that had not 
been out of the lake, apparently, more than half an hour. They 
were as large as calves ! (Loud laughter.) It is the greatest 
country I ever saw, out there, and Milwaukee is one of the greatest 
places; and this gentleman (Hon. Edward D. Holton) is one of the 
greatest men in that place. (Renewed merriment.) 

SPEECH OF HON. E. D. HOLTON. 

I wonder if there is any justice of the peace here ? I want to have this young 
man indicted. (Laughter.) He has dealt most profusely in broad statements, 
which I think ought to expose him to a great deal of censure. I think he is in- 
dictable, though I am not much of a lawyer. Now about those salmon, big as 
calves ! That is a big story. Old Billy Ingerson never saw as big salmon as 
that in the Connecticut, in all his life, although he saw awful big salmon, as well 
as big bears. (Laughter.) 

I heard the name of Milwaukee, the city where I have the honor to live, men- 
tioned by our excellent and esteemed president. Well, friends, it has been my 



584 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

fortune to see what, perhaps, falls to the lot of but few persons of my age to see. 
I have witnessed every brick raised in that city of now sixty thousand inhabitants. 
When I went to Milwaukee it was a hamlet, and there was but a single brick 
house — a one-story building. Now it is literally a city of bricks. One of the 
peculiarities of the town is, that there is an extraordinary deposit of clay, that 
makes a yellow or cream-colored brick. Those bricks are found all over the 
country. There is scarcely a city in the United States that has not now some 
handsome structure built of those bricks. They make a peculiarly handsome 
material for building. Milwaukee is a cream -colored city — the natural color of 
the bricks. Very superior bricks are these ; they are equal to marble for endur- 
ance. It has been my privilege also to see that people grow. I have seen the 
people come trooping in until the state has reached a population of a million. 
Many of these people are Germans. I have seen a great deal of the Germans, 
and I have come to love them very much. At least twenty or twenty-five thou- 
sand of the inhabitants of Milwaukee are Germans. They are a noble people. 
They have some peculiarities. They arefvery fond of lager beer, and deal in it 
almost everywhere; but now and then a Yankee likes a little lager. But still, 
they are a most industrious, law-abiding people, and a people of great productive 
power. To illustrate the stability of the Germans, I will mention that I took a 
lad, twelve years old, from the street, who was indentured to me, in the old- 
fashioned way, for six or seven years. That was in 1842, twenty-five years ago, 
and that boy has remained with me from that time to this — that is, in the differ- 
ent stations I have occupied. He is now a bookkeeper in one of the banks, to 
which I introduced him, having brought him up to that business. This steadi- 
ness and tenacity in business are what we need, and we shall borrow them from 
the German character. 

Another characteristic of the German is his love for home. Any Yankee will 
go to work and fix up a farm, and then sell it right out, without even asking per- 
mission of his wife, if he can get his price. Not so with the Germans, Mr. 
Chairman. I can take you to many a German who would not sell his farm if you 
covered it with gold. It is worth twenty dollars an acre, perhaps. You say to 
him, "I will give you twenty-one." "No." "I will give you twenty-two." 
"No." " I will give you twenty-five." "No: you can't buy it at all." "Why 
not?" "It is my house — my home." Well, this stability of character, united 
with the characteristics of our people, is really going to improve us. A good 
cross is an advantage. That boy to whom I have referred is now a young man, 
and is worth $25,000, which he has accumulated by little savings. I want to call 
the attention of young American men to this element of the German character — 
steadiness, perseverance, and economy. It is an element which we need to in- 
corporate into the American character. So, in Milwaukee, I congratulate myself 
at the new type of character that the German population will bring among us. 
They are peculiar in some things, as I said before. They have departed from the 
old faith of Luther to a considerable extent. They are a little degenerate in the 
matter of theology, but that we hope to remedy. 

Our schools are open; the New England element comes in, and we hope to 
gather up all the children to meet together in our common schools. We hope to 
keep ourselves well up with the times in that regard. We have now nine school- 
houses, three stories high, which have cost from fifteen to forty thousand dollars 
apiece. I know of no public buildings around there that are so handsome and 
elegant as they are. Into those schools we introduce the best talent that can be got, 
as teachers. Our common schools will carry the young man or the young maiden 
up to the languages, and perfect them in everything they need. And we are 
spreading this education broadcast, as you do, to all those German and Irish and 
Scotch and Welch that come among us, and thus we will produce a homogeneous 
population, that shall spread out and produce, we hope, a higher order of char- 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 585 

acter than we have yet seen on the continent in that valley of the Mississippi. 
God, we trust, will bless the efforts that are being put forth, not only by Mil- 
waukee, but by other cities and towns in the West. The great city of Chicago 
might be instanced, in a far grander sense than Milwaukee, for they have done 
nobler and better in all those matters that stand related to the highest welfare of 
the community. By applying these instrumentalities, we hope finally to prepare 
a population that shall be, with you here, a sheet-anchor, that shall hold the 
nation against any force that may be brought against it. 

The President. — This is an occasion when the forms of men 
rise up before us swifter than thought. Of the oldest inhabitants, 
I cannot help mentioning the name of Barnard, whose white locks 
and venerable appearance I well recollect, for he was aged when I 
came to Lancaster. He was a man of extensive culture, a fine 
speaker, and an honorable gentleman. He has gone from among 
us, but his life and character will be valuable, now and always. I 
remember, too, Richard Eastman, one of the most honored and 
honorable men in our town. He was a man without reproach. 
Fortunate is he who successfully follows his example. Henry Ward 
Beecher once said that he wanted to live among the hills, where 
there had been trouble ; where there had been steam power which 
had thrown up, in some grand convulsion, great mountains. It was 
a very ancient engine that burst when these hills were blown up 
from their deep foundations. There is a gentleman here to-day 
who has always been familiar with steam power, and on the train of 
fortune. But he loves his mountain home. He is a son of Lancas- 
ter, who went out into the world alone, and has come back, bearing 
the record of an honorable and successful life. I mean Nathaniel 
White, Esq. He sends me this sentiment, being too modest to 
speak : 

May our town always keep on the track of prosperity, and may 
her merchandise be transported as successfully as this occasion 
transports us. 

The third regular toast was then read : 

Our Friends fro7n Abroad. 

The President. — The gentleman who was expected to respond 
to that toast was the first preceptor of the academy in this place, 
Nathaniel Wilson, and I know there are many of his old pupils here 
to-day who will be delighted to see and hear him. He claims not 
to have educated me wholly, but only half of me. I am sorry to 
say, however, that in that he is mistaken ; it was her sister. 
(Laughter.) The value of the services that gentleman has ren- 
dered the town cannot be calculated. His pupils all speak of him 
with respect and affection. If present, I wush he would come for- 
ward and address them a moment. 

[Mr. Wilson did not respond, and the president continued.] 



586 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

My friends, before any of you retire, there is a little business to 
be transacted. I propose that when we adjourn, it be to meet again 
at this place on the 14th of July, 1964 (laughter and applause), and 
I venture, in behalf of the committee of arrangements, to invite all 
of you to be present. (Renewed merriment.) The orator will by 
that time be ready to dehver his oration, and the governors of Mas- 
sachusetts and New Hampshire will be able to attend. If it is your 
wish, when we do adjourn, to adjourn for a hundred years, and to 
meet as proposed, you will say "Aye." ("Aye," "aye.") It is a unan- 
imous vote, therefore you will all be here. (Great merriment.) 

The next regular toast was then read : 

Ou7' Honored Dead, 

Responded to by Henry O. Kent, giving statistics of enlistments, 
mortality, and notable acts on the part of the town and natives of 
Lancaster in the service. 

The PRESH3ENT. — I do not mean to say, ladies and gentlemen, 
that Lancaster has ever felt very materially any of its great losses, 
because its resources have been so unbounded. It has, however, 
been quite a custom in times past for inquiring young men, and 
also sometimes for sober, serious, and disconsolate older ones, to 
make pilgrimages to our mountains, to recuperate their health and 
restore their spirits. They often came to Lancaster for relief, and 
for a spiritual medicine, carry off our daughters to adorn other 
homes in other states. I have seen here to-day one of these fortu- 
nate men from Massachusetts, a valued acquaintance and friend of 
mine for some years. If Mr. Ezra C. Hutchins is in the audience, I 
would like to ask him what sentiment he cherishes for the town of Lan- 
caster, the birthplace of his better half? I know he has very happy 
feelings and a most thankful disposition concerning us. I will venture 
to say he is a very fortunate man, and must know it. (Laughter.) 

Mr. Hutchins sent up the following toast: May the daughters 
of Lancaster be found as lovely in the future as they have been in 
the past. 

Fourth regular toast : 

Our Conunon Coufitry. 

The President. — I have been requested to call upon Daniel C. 
Pinkham, Esq., to respond to this toast. 

In the necessary absence of Mr. Pinkham, the next sentiment was 
announced : 

The Ancient Fraternity . 

Colonel Kent. — I will call upon Sir Knight Jared I. Williams 
to respond to that sentiment. He was early connected with the 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 587 

revival of the order in this town, and it is as much indebted to him 
as to any person for its present flourishing condition. 

SPEECH OF SIR KNIGHT J. I. WILLIAMS. 

I could wish, sir, that some older member of the fraternity, some one better 
versed in its history, and whose eloquence would do better justice to it than any 
words of mine, had been designated to respond to this sentiment ; but as I make 
it a rule never to shrink from trying, at least, to do my part, I will say a few 
words. 

In 1797, I think, authority was given to Mr. John Weeks and associates to 
establish North Star lodge. From that time down to the Morgan excitement the 
lodge worked on, with that varying fortune that marks all human institutions ; 
sometimes meeting with a high degree of prosperity, and at other times sinking to 
a very low state. At that time, when unprincipled politicians — then, as always, 
ready to seize upon anything to accomplish their ends — grasped at the alleged 
abduction of a worthless citizen to raise an outcry against the order, the lodge 
languished, and finally the charter was returned to the grand lodge, where it 
remained until 1852, when Dr. Eliphalet Lyman procured its restoration. Since 
then it has prospered to a great degree, and now numbers some hundred and 
fifty members. What we have accomplished for the good of the town, how far 
our lessons of love and kindness taught in the lodge have gone toward uniting 
the people of this town, will only be known when the last records are made up 
and we all stand before our Master and wait his final inspection. This much we 
know, that the honored names of those who have presided over us, and who have 
assisted us in all our undertakings, are those of our most respected citizens — men 
of worth, whose names are sufficient vouchers that we have been engaged in noth- 
ing wrong, but that we have always wrought for the best interests of our native 
town. The names of Weeks and Savage and Wilson and Chapman, and others 
familiar to the older citizens of this town, are good sureties for our well meaning, 
and, I think, for our good conduct. To-day we have met together and carried 
before you the banner of the knights of old, the emblem of our order. With 
pleasure we have done it, and we hope it has reminded you, as it ever reminds 
us, that in our course of life the cross of our blessed Saviour should be our only 
guide. 

I would here remind my brother Masons that this is the first time that we have 
been called out on an occasion of festivity. Our meetings have been generally 
those of sorrow and mourning. Soon after the restoration of our lodge we were 
called to lay the remains of Dr. Lyman in the silent tomb, and pay to them the 
last sad honors which were denied by his kindred. We recorded his virtues upon 
our records, and threw over his frailties the mantle of Masonic charity. Since 
then we have been called upon to bury many of our most influential members. 
I was struck with the mention, by the marshal, of Colonel Cross, Lieutenant 
Lewis, and others, who have fallen in this Civil War, and whom we have laid in 
the grave. 

But, citizens of Lancaster, as we joyously assist you on this occasion, so we 
ask you to assist us with your smiles and your encouragement, that our Masonic 
trowels maybe more efficient in spreading the cement of love and Union ; that 
our Masonic swords may be sharper to smite asunder the arrows of temptation, 
and that our armor may be proof against them. 

The next regular toast was then read : 
The Volunteer Army. 



588 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Seventh regular toast: 
The Federal Navy. 

Colonel Kent. — I desire to call upon a son of Lancaster to 
respond to that toast; a young man whose bravery is only equaled 
by his modesty; who has gone through the several gradations in 
the navy, until he now holds the honorable position of lieutenant. 
I refer to Alfred T. Snell, late of the ship Lancaster. 

The Preshjent. — I happen to know something of the manner 
in which Lieutenant Snell has performed his duties, and it has been 
so creditable that I am sure his name will be written among the 
honored sons of the town. 

Lieutenant Snell having left the bower, Colonel Kent said : 

I desire to call for a toast from an old and respected citizen, 
whose long and honorable career has been without spot or blemish ; 
whose descendants have sprang up around him, and whom we all 
rejoice to see here to-day. I allude to Col. John H. White. Will 
he favor us with a sentiment, or some remarks? 

Colonel White said he had no speech to make, but he would offer 
as a sentiment, — 

Lancaster as it was one hundred years ago, a howling wilderness, 
now blossoming like the rose. Never need a son look beyond his 
own town to find anything surpassing the sublime beauty of its 
scenery. 

Eighth regular toast : 

The Churches and the Sabbath Schools. 

To this toast there was no response, and the next was read, as 
follows : 

The Early Settlers of Our Town. 

SPEECH OF REV. WM. R. JOYSLIN OF BERLIN, VT. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : I thank you for the invitation to respond 
to this toast. I am one of those who revere age, and it is exceedingly pleasant to 
me, when I come back here, to see so many reverend and revered men and 
women, who have given character to our town. The earliest settlers have passed 
off the stage. Stockvvell, Bucknam, Spaulding — they have passed off, as indi- 
viduals, from the stage of action, but their descendants remain; and this town, 
in the families of the Spauldings, the Savages, the Stockwells, the VVeekses, and 
their descendants, directly and indirectly, with their comfortable homes, attests 
the character of those settlers. They were industrious, thrifty, sturdy men, and 
they gave character and life to this town. Their descendants are of the same 
class, and we know — as we look abroad over our community — that they are its 
bone and sinew. Our fathers endured stern hardships and privations. Mr. 
Edward Spaulding, who settled upon the hill, was brought here in the arms of 
his mother — the first infant brought to this town. Many came from Massachu- 
setts, as we have heard. They came into the wilderness and laid the foundations 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 589 

upon which our prosperity has Ijeen built up. Among other things — and it may 
become me to speak of it, my friends — they brought with them and estabhshed 
the Gospel and its institutions. The early settlers reared the old meeting-house, 
and there the families gathered in those pews — every pew representing a family ; 
and thus the people of this town were brought together in a bond of religious and 
spiritual union — a union that will outlast all other unions. Our stability, my 
friends, is in following the example that has been exhibited by the lives and the 
actions of the early settlers; holding fast to the truth, building upon the founda- 
tions that they laid, and standing by the principles that have been committed to 
us by a Christian and pious ancestry. I believe that in this rests our strength, 
and that by this we shall conquer. 

May we, my friends, be as faithful in our day and generation — those who are 
coming upon the stage and those who are now in middle life— as the early set- 
tlers of this town ; and 7nay the prosperity of this town henceforth be an honor to 
us, as it has been an honor to them. May we all stand in the principles that 
were left to us, and be a united and a happy people. 

In this connection, a communication received from Judge Wood- 
ruff of Ohio, whose wife is the daughter of Hon. John H. White, 
was read. 

Colonel Kent continued : Several other toasts have been 
handed in by various parties during the day, to which no person 
has been assigned to respond. I will read them. 

By Nathaniel Wilson, Esq., the first preceptor of the academy, of 
Orono, Me. : 

Lancaster' . — In the grandeur and beauty of her natural scenery 
unrivaled, but in her social relations more notable, more truly beau- 
tiful. As her generations in the past century were distinguished in 
all the elements that constitute an intelligent and virtuous commu- 
nity, may the present and the future rival the past. 

By Rev. John Lovejoy, the chaplain designated for the occasion, 
who, much to our regret, is unable to be with us to-day: 

Lancaster. — Beautiful for situation — the joy of all resident and 
absent citizens. Surrounded by the " Mountains of God," may her 
love for liberty, education, religion, and religious institutious be as 
permanent as the White Mountains. 

The United States. — The most glorious, the happiest, " the most 
magnificent dwelling for men on earth." Its disunion is sought by 
worthless men. Let the language of every loyal heart be, " The 
Union MUST and SHALL be preserved." May the eternal God be 
its refuge, and underneath, the everlasting arms. 

T/ie Ladies. — No celebration is complete without the presence 
of the ladies. At this time we welcome them with peculiar pleas- 
ure. We attribute the present position of the town, in wealth, cul- 
ture, and influence, to the force of their example and the effect of 
their labors. While we cherish with the warmest affection the name 



590 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

of the town of our youth, we can never forget the dear ones that 
have made and still rend^er it doubly dear. 

The Committees of the Occasion. — Better labor was never more 
cheerfully rendered than that by our men, matrons, and maids, in 
preparing this enthusiastic welcome to the old home. May the 
efforts they have shown in our behalf bear abundant fruit in the 
harvest of pleasant recollections that will spring from the seed here 
planted. 

The Citizens Gene7-ally. — From the farm, the ofifice, the shop, 
and the counter the people have come up to enjoy this day's fes- 
tivity. As we glance over the luxuriant fields and among the evi- 
dences of prosperity that surround us, we may well have reason for 
a day's festive congratulation on the peaceful progress that has 
passed over the happy valley. During long years to come may we, 
the people of this good old town, dwell in harmony, peace, and 
plenty, striving for the common good, and diffusing influences that 
shall endure long after they have lain down to sleep beneath the 
shade of the hills that smiled over their cradle. 

The Sons and Daiightei's of Lancaster . — May those of them 
who have left their homes, honor their native town by their deeds 
as much as she has honored them in their birth. 

The President. — My friends, we have had some disappoint- 
ments to-day, but I am sure we have had also considerable happi- 
ness. It is hardly proper for us to pass by, with a single sentiment, 
the labors of the several committees here to-day. They have been 
so well performed, and in all respects are so creditable, that I think 
the children of Lancaster who reside out of the town and the state 
ought to give them some special commendation. I therefore pro- 
pose that the thanks of the sons and daughters of Lancaster be 
given to the various committees of arrangements, for the highly 
satisfactory manner in which they have discharged their duties. 
Those in favor of that proposition will say "Aye." "Aye," " aye." 
Contrary minded, " No." (No response.) Everybody is satisfied 
with those committees. (Applause.) 

And now, my friends, it remains for us simply to congratulate 
ourselves that we have had such a beautiful day. Providence has 
smiled upon this occasion in a peculiar manner. There is much 
felicity in what has been said and done. It has been clearly dem- 
onstrated to-day that the love and friendship of the people of Lan- 
caster are stronger than their politics and party spirit. Not one 
word has been uttered reflecting upon any man or set of men under 
heaven. It is a precious blessing, and a cause of rejoicing, that 
there are still some occasions in life when we can meet in friendship 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 59I 

and harmony. I trust that when we separate we may go with the 
right temper and right feehng, and with a fixed determination that 
we will hereafter do nothing which will reflect dishonor upon our 
native town ; that we shall go forth self-reliant, and with the firm 
purpose to accomplish whatever we undertake, as becomes the sons 
of Lancaster. I trust, too, that we shall be true to ourselves and 
the virtues of our fathers, and as often as we remember them, renew 
the resolution that their posterity shall never be unworthy of them. 

Colonel Kent. — My friends, this closes the exercises of the 
day. A levee will be held at the town hall this evening, which we 
hope will be made one of the pleasant incidents of this occasion, by 
the presence of our friends from all parts of the country, and the 
interchange of cordial greetings and sentiments, of friendship. We 
hope to see you all to-night, and that you will extend this notice 
as much as possible, that there may be a large attendance. 

This meeting stands adjourned until the 14th da)' of July, 1964. 
(Laughter and applause.) 

The President. — Colonel Kent will conduct the exercises on 
that occasion. (Rei>ewed laughter.) 

levee at the town hall. 

The festivities of this interesting occasion were fitly terminated by 
a levee in the evening, at the town hall — the ancient meeting- 
house, the first erected in the town, and itself, therefore, a link be- 
tween the present and the past — which was crowded to overflowing 
by the residents of the town and their friends from abroad. The 
hall was handsomely decorated with flags and wreaths of evergreen, 
while a magnificent bouquet, gigantesque in size, but arranged with 
exquisite taste, hung over the platform, like the breath of Imogen, 
perfuming the room. The gathering was an informal one, and the 
principal portion of the time was spent in the exchange of friendly 
greetings and conversation, in which the reminiscences of the past 
held a conspicuous place. Old friends, long parted by time and 
widely separated by distance, here met, to renew once more the in- 
tercourse of early years and revive the pleasant memories of the past. 

The following songs, written for the occasion, were sung in a 
spirited and effective manner by the glee club : 

(By Henry O. Kent.) 

In the grateful shade of our mountain home 

A glad throng gathers to-day, 
To welcome with joy to the old hearthstone 

Companions so long away. 

And list, 'mid our welcome resounding clear, 

A plaintive strain from afar, 
That sweetly falls on our gathering here 

Through the listening summer air. 



592 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

The greeting of friends to the olden home, 
Now rested from mortal strife ; 

Whose spirits attend ye, as back ye come 
To haunts of their earthly life. 

Warm is the greeting and strong the embrace 
That welcome ye home again ; 

Which bid ye forget the wearying race 
That led from this peaceful plain. 

Ring the glad chorus full joyously out, 
While the old, old tales are told; 

Let silvery laugh and echoing shout 
Prove hearts that have not grown cold. 

Aye, the sturdy old town is glad to-day, 
As she welcomes home her own. 

And her jocund smile is as blithe and gay 
As that of her youngest born. 

Ye have done her honor where'er ye strove. 
Her dead have been leal and true ; 

The pride of her sons and her daughters' love 
Been pure as our mountains' snow. * 

Let us strengthen here this union of ours, 
Near the graves of loved ones gone ; 

Renew at this altar our youthful vows, 
And cheerfully journey on. 

WELCOME HOME. 
(By Mrs. Mary B. C. Slade.) 

Mountain winds and singing waters 

Sound our old home's gladsome strain : 
Climb the hills, my Sons and Daughters ! 

Welcome, welcome home again ! 
Climb the hills, my Sons and Daughters ! 

Welcome, welcome home again ! 
Climb the hills, my Sons and Daughters! 

Welcome, welcome home again ! 

Haste from prairie, lake, and ocean ; 

From the crowded cities come. 
And afar from war's commotion. 

Soldiers, brothers, welcome home! 

Come, unseen ones, at our calling, 
Who, our glory and our loss, 

Nobly fought, as nobly falling. 

With the brave and gallant Cross ! 

Lovely spot, sweet home of beauty, 
On her birthday bright and clear, 

At the call of love and duty. 
All shall find a welcome here. 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 593 

Crown with love each joyous hour, 

Write each name so dear to her 
On the Inindred petaled flower. 

Sweet wild rose of Lancaster. 

In the course of the evening, Albert Holton, Esq., of Bangor, 
proposed that the natives of Lancaster, now resident abroad, should 
purchase the field where the dinner had been given, and present it 
to the town for a public common, as a memorial of their affection 
for the place of their birth. The proposition was heartily seconded 
by Nathaniel Wilson, Esq., of Orono, Me., and J. B. Brown, Esq., 
of Portland. A subscription paper was drawn up, and considerable 
progress made in obtaining the- requisite amount. A resolution was 
also passed authorizing Colonel Kent to procure all available statis- 
tics in regard to the history of the town, to be printed with the 
account of the celebration. 

At 10:30 o'clock the company separated (the band playing 
"Home, Sweet Home"), to seek their several homes, their souls 
strengthened and their hearts inspired, we trust, by the events of 
the day, and a store of fragrant memories treasured up for the years 
that are to come. 

As a matter for future reference in this connection, we insert the 
names of those officials who were present and acted on the occasion : 

President. — David H. Mason, Boston, Mass. 

Vice-Presidents. — Nathaniel White, Concord; John B. Brown, 
Portland. Me. ; L. C. Porter, St. Johnsbury, Vt. ; Edward D. Holton, 
Milwaukee, Wis. ; Nathaniel Wilson, Orono, Me. ; Spencer Clark, 
Lunenburg, Vt. ; John W. Lovejoy, Hatfield, Mass. ; Reuben G. 
Freeman, Guildhall, Vt. ; Charles Baker, Royal Joyslin, J. E. Stick- 
ney, Horace Whitcomb, Allen Smith, William Lovejoy, Seth Sav- 
age, William Holkins, William Burns, Douglass Spaulding, Emmons 
Stockwell, W'arren Porter, Amos LeGro, Porter G. Freeman, Joseph 
Howe, John H. White, Benjamin Hunking, Turner Stephenson, 
J. W. Williams, James W'. Weeks, Ephraim Cross, Charles D. Steb- 
bins, Richard P. Kent, Samuel Mclntire, Gilman Wilder, Ephraim 
Stockwell, Beniah Colby, Daniel Stebbins, William Moore, Lan- 
caster. 

Coniniittee of Arrangements. — J. W. Barney, William R. Stock- 
well, J. L Williams, Samuel H. LeGro, Edward Savage, H. J. Whit- 
comb, E. R. Kent. 

Marshal-in-Chief. — Henry O. Kent. 

Aids to the Marshal. — Levi B. Joyslin, Edward R. Kent, Ira 
S. M. Gove, Frank Smith, Loren B. Porter, Chapin C. Brooks, 
William C. Spaulding, Oscar F. Bothel, H. G. Hodgdon, H. F. 
Whitcomb, Sylvanus Chessman, William Warren, James S. Brackett, 
\\. D. Stockwell, G. H. Emerson, Philastus Eastman, P^-ed C. Colbv. 
38 



594 HISTORY OF LANCASTER. 

Special Marshal/or Sabbath Schools. — Harvey Adams. 

Ass/slants. — Joseph C. Marshall, Seneca Congdon, George M. 
Smith, Albert T. Johnson, C. M. Winchester. 

In the absence of the orator selected, William H. Farrar of Ore- 
gon, addresses were delivered by David H. Mason of Boston, Mass., 
and Edward D. Holton of Milwaukee, Wis. 

Cha-plain. — Rev. David Perry of Brookfield, Vt. 

Toastinasters. — The President and Marshal-in-Chief. 

Reader of the Charter. — Ossian Ray. 

Committee on Dinner. — Frederick Fisk, E. R. Kent, A. H. Aspin- 
wall, G. H. Watson, W. F. Smith, C. E. Allen, G. O. Rogers, H. J 
Whitcomb, L. B. Porter, E. Spaulding, J. B. Moore, W. D. Weeks 
J. Moore, R. L. Hodgdon, W. J. Harriman, Charles W. Hodgdon 
Francis H. Wentworth, Alonzo P. Freeman, Dudley N. Hodgdon, 2d 
Barton G. Towne, James LeGro, Hiram Savage, John W. Spaulding 
J. W. Savage, O. F. Bothel, Warren Marden, R. G. Kimball, Joseph 
Colby, Zeb. Twitchell, J. S. Brackett, George W. Webster, S. H. Le- 
Gro, C. D. Allen, Charles Mclntire, Nelson Kent, William Darby, 
C. B. Allen, William L. Rowell, B. F. Hunking, L. F. Moore, W. H. 
Clarke, J. C. Marshall, George Cotton, Nelson Sparks, John E. 
Field, and their wives ; Horace Spaulding, Henry VVebb, and their 
sisters ; George S. Stockwell, Phineas R. Hodgdon, Miss Rebecca 
Colby, and Miss Abigail Colby. 

Letters were received and read from Gov. John A. Andrew of Mas- 
sachusetts, United States Senator Aaron H. Cragin of Lebanon, A. 
Curtis and. W, H. Stockwell of Cincinnati, William W. Field of Fen- 
nimore, Wis., J6hn E. Haines and Col. Joseph W. Merriam of Chi- 
cago, Edward B. Moore, M. D., of Boston, John G. Foster, major- 
general United States Volunteers, and Gov. Joseph A. Gilmore. 



I N D EX 



Abbott, Amos F'. 


454 


Abbott, Annie 


505 


Abbott, Erastus I. 


549' 550 


Abbott, Samuel ...... 


121 


Abraig, Samuel ...... 


121 


A^o^latv,,r T .,,..-> of o,- 


^_, ^^^ ^T< ^-r 



CORRECTION. 

By some fatality the name of the beautiful river flowing through 
the village — the ancient Sawa-coo-nauk, or Siwooganock — is per- 
sistently printed " Isrrals," instead of " Israels " as it should be 
spelled, in honor of Israel Glines, the pioneer hunter and trapper. 



Alden, Henry 
Aldrich, Gilman . 
Alexander, Benjamin D. 
Alexander, George 
Allen, Asahel 
Allen, Charles B. 

Allen. Charles E. 



Allen, Cyrus D. 
Allen, Daniel W. 
Allen, Isaac 



267 



-67' 323, 335. 377. 398, 399. 444 

528, 529, 534, 539. 541, 545 

258, 337, 377, 378. 385. 

399, 530, 537, 539, 542 

158 

548 



121 

557 
192 

541 
206 

. 524 
594 
386, 
. 594 
. 594 

. 549 
-,86 



I N DEX 



Abbott, Amos F'. 
Abbott, Annie 
Abbott, Erastus I. 
Abbott, Samuel . 
Abraig, Samuel 
Academy, Lancaster 
Accounts, Early Private, with 
Adams, Andrew . 
Adams, Benjamin 
Adams, B. S. 
Adams, Elisha 
Adams, Ezra E. . 
Adams, Harvey 

Adams, Rev. James 

Adams, J. W. 

Adams, Lemuel 

Adams, Milton A. 

Adams, Reuben L. 

Adams, Ruth 

Adams, Seth 

Agriculture . 

Agriculture, Commissioner on 

Agricultural Societies 

Alcott. B. S. 

Alden, Henry 

Aldrich, Gilman . 

Alexander, Benjamin D 

Alexander, George 

Allen, Asahel 

Allen, Charles B. 

Allen, Charles E. 

Allen, Cyrus D. . 
Allen, Daniel W. 
Allen, Isaac 



the Town 



229, 258, 267, 
505, 523, 527, 



State Board of 



. 267, 



323. 
528, 



454 
505 

549. 550 

121 

121 

275' 333^ 416-421 

194-198 

131, 194, 410 

13I' 194, 375' 410, 436 
505 

43^ 
420 

335' 37S^ 376, 385' 436, 437 
529, 536, 541, 542, 548, 593 

336, 438 

438 

13I' 535 

557 

33S^ 368, 398, 539' 542 

193 

433' 538. 54I' 547, 548 
126, 152 

535 

126, 400, 402 

390 

121 

557 

192 

267, 541 

206 

335' 377, 398, 399. 444> 5^4 
529. 534' 539- 541, 545' 594 
258, 337, 377' 378. 385- 386, 
399, 530, 537, 539, 542, 594 

158' 594 

548, 549 

386 



334 
528 



258, 267, 



430, 



596 



INDEX. 



Allen, Maria 
Allen, William H. 
Allison, David B. 
Alverson, Thomas 
Amadon, Ada 
Amadon, George M. 
Ames, Jere'h 
Amey, John T. 
Amey, Harry B. . 
Amey, E. C. 
Amusements of Early T 
Andrew, E. 
Animals 
Annance, Louis 
Anti-Slavery Movement 
Applebee, Dorcas 
Apthorp, Charles Ward 
Armington, J. W. 
Arsenal, The State 
Ashley, Rev. Andrew \\ 
Aspinwall, A. H. 
Aspinwall. John . 
Atkinson, Theodore 
Austin, Rev. Daniel 
Austin, Eliza 

Babb, Nathaniel . 
Babcock, Rev. D. C. 
Babcock, Rev. J. M. 
Bacon, Sarah Hawes 
Bailey, C. A. 
Bailey, Charles R. 
Bailey, Daniel 
Bailey, Harry 
Bailey, Jacob 
Bailey, Josephine A. 
Bailey, N. M. 
Bailey, Richard W. 
Bailey, Walter S. 
Bailey, Ward 
Bailey, William W. 
Bain, James 
Baird, J. H. 
Baker, Benjamin T. 
Baker, Betsey 
Baker, Charles 
Baker, Charles O. 



in Lancaster 



143. 



235. 



93. 



263 



131, 192, 209, 335, 428, 486, 546, 548, 



325. 


558 


457, 524. 


539 
1 2 1 




497 




542 




77 


339, 535, 


543 


476, 


497 




497 


349- 


-363 




191 


289, 


292 


313. 


486 


143, 


144 




190 


21, 30, 3c 


, 42 




421 


5i7> 


518 




451 




594 


228, 436, 


540 




3,8 




487 




192 




190 


434, 


439 




447 




464 


394. 


395 


460, 


491 
121 


499. 


525 




72 


494, 


501 




438 




336 


337^ SS<^^ 


559 


71 


^ 82 




121 


■ 388, 


542 




459 
121 


193 


423 


546, 548, 


593 




323 



INDEX. 



597 



Baker, C. W. 
Baker, Etta I. 
Baker House 
Baker, James 
Baker, Jonas 

Baker, Lucinda 
Baker, Mary 
Baker, Oliver W. 
Baker, Sophia 
Baker, T. T. 
Baker, W. G. 
Balch, Amos 
Balch, Charles H. 
Balch, James H. 
Balch, Joseph 
Balch, Joseph H. 
Ball, Ebenezer 
Ball, Isaac . 
Banfield, Samuel 
Banks . 
Bank Commissioners 
Baptists 
Barlow, Abner 
Barlow, Joseph 
Barlow, Nathan 
Barnard, Julia 
Barnard, Levi 
Barnard, Lucy R. 
Barnard, Rev. Stephen 
Barney, Dr. John W. 

Barrel, Nathaniel 
Barrows, Rev. L. D. 
Barrows, Levi P. 
Barstovv, George . 
Bartlett, Isaac 
Bartlett, Dr. Josiah 
Bass, J. L. . 
Batchelor, D. W. 
Batchelor, Jonas . 
Batchelor, Mary E. 
Batchelder, C. D. 
Batchelder, Jacob 
Batchelder, James 
Beach, Edward B. 
Beach, H.N. 



323 

. . . 502 

333 

397 

32, 59, 90, loi, 131, 177, 193, 197 
422, 423. 433. 534, 538, 539, 540 

427 

191 

374, 510. 528, 548 

191 

505 
505 
528 

390 

134, 192, 418, 419, 554 

191 

550 

121 

40 

192. 513 

336. 338, 392-395 

534 

80, iSj. 450. 451 

11 

. 11, 82 

83, 546 

509 

131.463 
192 

430, 442 

237, 267, 275, 335, 336, 369, 444, 478 
481, 489, 495, 532, 534, 550, 593 

?~ 

438, 459 

557 

420 

496 

34 
338 
505 
372 
505 
459 
192 
191 
556 
338 



598 



INDEX. 



Bean, Albro 
Bean, Curtis 
Bean, Lieut. Riciiard 
Beadier, Gad 
Beaton, Charles C. 
Beattie, Capt. Alexander M. 
Beattie, D. H. 
Beattie, Thomas C. 
Beattie, T. G. 
Beckwith, George H. 
Bell, Rev. Benjamin 
Bellows, Charles . 
Bellows, George . 
Bellows, John 
Bellows, Josiah, 2d 
Bellows, Lydia 
Bemis. O. W. 
Benman, Jonas 
Bench and Bar, The 
Bennett, Chester . 
Bennett, Daniel . 
Bennett, Ezra B. . 
Bennett, Frederick T. 
Bennett, Nathaniel 
Bennett, Rev. W. E. 
Bennett, Zera 
Benton, Benjamin 
Benton, Hon. Jacob 



Benton, Josiah H., Jr. 
Benton, Louisa Dow 
Benton, Reuben C. 
Benway, Joseph 
Bergin, Abigail 
Bergin, Anna 
Bergin, Joseph 
Berry, Henry B. 
Berry, William H. 
Bickford, John 
Bigelow, Asahel 
Bingham, Francis 
Birds of Lancaster 
Bishop, Benjamin 
Black Lewa 
Black, Zebulon 
Blackmer, Dr. John 
Blair, George W. 



160, 232, 233, 234, 
336, 385, 468. 



418, 

121 

499, 
62, 244, 395, 505, 537. 

• 384, 
489, 493, 



176, 

192, 267, 337, 36S, 
131, 267, 528, 

131, 194, 261, 



460, 



490, 524, 



438, 



236, 240, 267, 272, 275, 
528, 531, 532, 533, 536, 
237, 458, 469, 



427, 
165, 

121, 

131. 334, 
293 

181, 375' 
335' 



457 
419 
121 

553 
558 
556 

395 

535 
384 
497 
422 

537 
547 
267 

358 
427 

335 
191 
476 
121 

I2l 

559 
557 
121 

439 
121 

496 

335 
538 

533 
160 
275 

557 
509 

427 
403 
458 
458 

553 

59 

510 

-316 

434 

72 

388 

459 
2.37 



INDEX. 



599 



Blair, William 












• 559 


Blacksmiths 












98, 375' 376 


Blake, James 












• n, 83, 87 


Blake, Thomas 












■ 458 


Blanchard, Harriet 












418,419 


Blanchard, Heber 










131, 192, - 


267, 335' 349, 373 


Blanchard, James 












• 557 


Blanchard, Joseph 












10 


Blanchard, Peter . 












■ 384 


Blodgett, Archippus 












• 77.87 


Blodgett, Betsey . 












190 


Blodgett, Elijah . 












. 82, 87 


Blodgett, Josiah . 












■ n, 82 


Blodgett, Thomas 












n 


Blood. Charles M. 












■ 557 


Blood, E. . 












• 492 


Boardman, Benjamin 






90, 


131. 


194, 334, 


364, 370, 537. 540 


Board man, Edward 












191 


Boardman, Sarah Ann 












. 191 


Bonett, William . 












337 


Borged, Gilbert . 












82 


Bosvvell, William . 












335 


Botany of Lancaster 












283-288 


Bothel, Oscar F. . 












593. 594 


Bothwell, William 












193 


Boudle, John 












558 


Boundary Surveys 












137-139 


Boutwell, Frank . 












• 559 


Boutwell, Harry . 












• 554 


Bowe, Daniel A. . 








143. 233, 234, 398, 420, 457 


Bowler, Rev. J. A. 








438 


Brackett, Adino N, 


. 131, 165, 167, 191, 194, 220. 224, 225, 267, 341 


358, 410, 416, 428, 534, 536, 538, 540, 541, 578 


Brackett, A. N., Jr .267 


Brackett, Lieut. James S. . 


138, 235, 257, 402, 410, 444 




459, 500. 550, 556, 593, 594 


Brackett, John 


190 


Brackett, John Weeks .... 




182, 412 


Brackett, Deacon Joseph 59, 90, 99, loi, 


193, 262, 406, 


422, 423, 552, 553 


Brackett, Mary ..... 




193' 423 


Brackett, Mary N. 






324. 494 


Brackett, Martha ..... 






191 


Brackett House, The Old 






• 333 


Bradley, Sole Survivor of Rogers Rangers 






4 


Braden, Clark ..... 






. 98 


Brainard, John ..... 






121 


Bridge Company, The ] 


-ancaster 










395-398 



6oo 



INDEX. 



23. 



Bridges 

Bridge, J. D. 

Brigham, Tliomas 

Broolcs, Cliapin C. 

Brooks, Ezra 

Brooks, Kate J. 

Brooks, Sally 

Brown, Benjamin 

Brown, Charles Francis 

Brown, Chester P 

Brown, C. W. 

Brown, Edmund . 145 

Brown, F. P. 

Brown, George 

Brown, Hope 

Brown, James 

Brown, J. B. 

Brown, Jerome H 

Brown, John 

Brown, M. . 

Brown, Mary E. 

Brown, Nancy 

Brown, RoUin J. 

Brown, Samuel W. 

Brown, Sarah W. 

Brown, Titus O. 59, 60, 90 

Brown, Wellington 

Brown, William 

Brown, William J 

Bruce, Ezekiel 

Bruce, Phineas 

Bruce, William 

Bryant, George N 

Buck, Charles 

Buckley, Lizzie D 

Buckley, Will P. 

Bucknam, Gen. Edwards 



(Artemas Ward 



= 34 



190 



385 



3^8 



386 



319 



)93 



326 



. 61-66 
339' 497. 505 



492. 495' 
418, 419. 529, 



235' 
319' 



488, 495, 
499' 505- 
53^1. 545- 



364' 



381, 



382, 



5, ig, 20 

52, 54' 56, 
84, 87, 89, > 
209, 212, 255, 
329, 330, 363, 
422, 539, 540, 



Bucknam, Edwards, Jr. 
Bucknam, Edward F. 
Bucknam, Eunice 
Bucknam, George 
Bucknam, Grove . 



497' 

501, 
83' 397- 

372, 
67' 358, 

59' 
59. 



339. 476, 

, 23, 25, 27, 34, 38, 39, 42 

57, 59, 60, 72, 76, 78, 82 

j8, 99, loi, 107, 112, 193, 

262, 289, 291, 313, 325, 327, 

370, 372, 396, 403, 406, 410, 

545. 546, 547, 553, 561, 562, 



27, 549 
. 27, 28. 190 



75 



'83 



593 

35S 
470 
192 

436 
456 

499 

525 

555 

395 

189 

190 

'87' 

323 

557 

121 

498 

505 
191 

539 
374 
521 
540 
558 
558 
406 
190 
423 
540 
438 
557 
416 

539 

< 44 

. 83 

194 

328 

421 

571 

27 

550 

571 

27 

27 



INDEX. 



60 1 



Bucknani, Dr. John W 
Bucknam, Lydia 
Bucknam, Mary 
Bucknam, Polly 
Bucknam, Sally 
Bucknam, Soffia 
Bucknam, Susanna 
Bugbee, Dr. Frank 
Bui lard, Ariel M. 
Bui lard, A. T. 
Bullard, Jarius T. 
Bullard, Rachel . 
Bullard, Stephen . 
Bullard, William . 
Bullard, Willie E. 244, 328 
Bunday, David 
Bunday, Elisha 
Bundy, Isaac 
.Bundy, Samuel 
Bundy, Susannah 
Burbank, Adino J 
Burbank, Daniel 
Burbank, Hazen 
Burbeck, W. A. 
Burbeck, William Oliver 
Burgen, Betsey 
Burgin, John 
Burgin, John, 2d . 
Burgin, Samuel 
Burgin, Triphenia 
Burke, Rev. Edward 
Burley, Cyrus G. . 
Burnaby, Rev. Sydney A. 
Burnap, Asa W. . 
Burns, Charles E. 
Burns, John 
Burns, W. F. 
Burns, Hon. William 



Burnside Brook 
Burnside, David . 
Burnside, David A. 
Burnside, James . 
Burnside Meadows 
Burnside, Capt. Thomas 
Burt, George 
Burton, Azro 



395 



. 439 



67, 275 



491 



492, 



524, 



525. 



131- 



325, 478, 555 
27 

27 

[89 

27 

27 
>7, 92, 191 

33^, 478 
390, 529, 530 

437 
418, 419 
418, 419 

121, 553 
192 

552 
397 
397 
397 
547 
190 
420 
121 
121 
421 
458 
190 
558 



531, 537, 54- 



'93. 55- 



232, 234, 239, 240, 269, 
394, 444, 467, 528, 532, 

, 368, 372, 392, 509, 523, 
335. 368, 385. 



121, 553 
131 
192 
429 

449 
432 

193. 372, 535. 537 
337 
121 

459 

275- 336, 385. 393 

533. 535. 545. 593 

. 318 

527, 528, 529, 545 

398, 489. 529. 550 

87 

• 318 

318, 483, 538, 552 

557 

433 



6o2 



INDEX. 



Burton, John K. . 
Bush, George R. . 
Buxton, Rev. Edward 
Byam, Abram 

Cady, Charles 

Cady, Lieut. Joseph C. 

Cady, Sarah 
Cady, Zadoc 
Cady^s Meadow 
Cahoon, Charles D. 
Call, Abbie S. 
Cameron, John H. 
Campbell, Rev. Henry 
Carbee, George E. 
Carbee, Thomas D. 
Cargill, Guy C. 
Cargill, Susan D. F. 
Cargill, William . 
Carlisle, Thomas . 

Carlisle, William T. 
Carlton, D wight . 
Carlton, F. H. . 
Carlton, Jonathan 
Carpenter, Ebenezer 
Carpenter, G. W. 
Carpenter, Dr. Harry B 
Carpenter, Gen. Philip 
Carr, Jesse . 
Carter, Ella . 
Carter, Reuben F. 
Carter, Thomas . 
Carter, Zebulon 
Cass, M. G. 
Cass, William D. 
Cassady, Frank 
Cassady, James 
Cassady, Michael . 
Cassady, Patrick . 
Cassady, Thomas 
Cassin, Warren 
Caswell, Nathan . 
Caswell, Nathaniel 
Cat Bow Tract 
Catholic Church, The 



129 



560 

414, 556 

427, 428 

39 



194, 267, 268, 383, 512, 
515, 527, 528, 546, 



67, 



267, 333' 



333. 364, 365. 483, 533. 537, 538, 
131, 167, 194, 203, 209, 364, 365, 
3^3, 397, 416, 509, 513, 537, 539, 
129, 267, 364, 



09, 378, 

338, 
339. 479. 
472, 



145. 



411, 



00, 5 



57, 



57, 



77, 82, 83, 87, 
185, 449- 



267 

513 
547 
427 

513 

354 
437 
502 

557 

451 
401 

C21 
36s 

445 
545 
370 
547 
547 
433 
497 
537 
557 
483 
499 
545 
547 
501 
560 
40 
121 
436 
438 
562 

557 
557 
559 
559 
122 

311 
189 

39 
450 



INDEX. 



605 



Cattle, first in Lancaster 

Cave, George E. . 

Cemeteries ..... 

Census of Lancaster at Various Periods 

Centennial of Settlement of the Town 

Centennial Park . 

Chadbourne, Benjamin H 

Chaddock, Bowman 

ChaiTee, Isaac 

Chaffee, Otis 

Chamberlain, Rev. E. B 

Chamberlain, James 

Chandler, George E. 

Chaney, Rev. George L, 

Channing, Rev. George 

Chapman, Allison 

Chapman, Elias . 

Chapman, Dr. Jedediah 

Chapman, Katy C. 

Chapman, Nabby 

Chapman, William W. 

Charter of 1769 . 

Charter 

Charter, Renewal of 

Chase, Albert 

Chase, Aurin M. . 

Chase, Dexter 

Chase, Horace 

Chase, Joseph 

Chase, Persis F. . 

Chase, Simpson E. 

Cherry, Helen 

Cherry, Philo S. . 

Chessman, Charles 

Chessman, Joseph 

Chessman, R. C. . 

Chessman, Richard H. 

Chessman, Roswell 

Chessman, Roswell W 

Chessman, Silas . 

Chessman, Sophia 

Chessman, Sylvanus 

Christian, Levi H. 
Cholera 
Church, Levi 
Church, Moses 



23 

338, 391 

325-328 

70, 328-340 

148, 149, 563-594 

149 

129, 481, 537, 547 

397 

539 
121 

431 

483, 484 

499 

447 
447 
560 

90. 433> 540 

190 

191 

191 

436, 547 

31 

4-1 1 

30-32 
505 
39& 
457 
486 
556 
494, 501, 502 
559 
493 

490. 493 
411 
548 

492, 560 
542 

35& 

542 

13I' 193 
191 

113, 128, 131, 181, 190, 209, 319, 375 
383, 511, 515, 540, 546, 557. 593 

121 
262 

131 

13J 



6o4 



INDEX. 



Churches 










172- 


186, 


336, 421-452 


Cilley, M. T. 










• 438 


Civil List, The 














531-543 


Clarey, Patrick 














449 


Clark, Alvin J. . 














■ 542 


Clark, Eunice 














190 


Clark, Guy . 














121 


Clark, John M. . 














244, 537, 542 


Clark, John S. . 














410 


Clark, Rev. Lyman 














447 


Clark, Mindwell . 














423 


Clark, Morris 














269 


Clark, Seth . 














121 


Clark, Solomon B. 














121 


Clark, Spencer 














485, 564 


^lark, William H. 












439, 444, 594 


Clark, William S. 












335, 538, 541 


Cleaveland, Charles A. . 


243. 336 


394, 


395, 


491, 


492. 


+93, 535, 537, 542 


Cleaveland, Charles F. . 












476 


Cleaveland, Curtis 














■ 489 


Cleaveland, Sarah B. . 














493, 494 


Clement, Enoch N. 














557 


Clerk of Courts 














• 534 


Clerk of House of Representatives 












533 


Clerk of State Senate 












533 


Clerks of the Town 












• 539 


Clocks, Manufacture of in Lancaster 












377 


Clough, Fred H. . 












496 


Clough, Fred R. . 














499 


Clough, J ere 














121 


Clough, Mary M. 














• 50s 


Clough, William . 


. 240 


241, 


334, 


375, 


394, 395, 401, 537, 542 


Cloutman, Joseph B. 










496, 497, 500, 560 


Cloutman, William 










• 558 


Coaching Parade, North Side 










161-162 


Cobleigh, Ellen E. 










493- 495 


Cobleigh, Erastus V. 




337, 366, 394, 395, 487, 488, 490, 49' 
492, 493, 53°, 531, 537, 542 


Colby, Abigail 




594 


Colby, Benaiah 






436, 564, 593 


Colby, Charles F. 






32,7^ 378, 482, 497,538 


Colby, Enoch L. . 


2>2>7, 385 


.398 


399, 444, 528, 529, 532, 535, 538 


Colby, Dr. Frank A. . 






263, 369, 478, 482, 552 


Colby, Fred C. 






338, 593 


Colby, George H. 






369, 458 


Colby, Gilman 






418, 419, 524 


Colby, James 














• 557 



INDEX. 



605 



Colby, Joseph 

Colby, Moses 

Colby, Rebecca 

Colby, W. C. 

Cold Seasons 

Cole, Rev. Otis 

Cole, S. 

Collins, Charles 

Collins, John 

Collins, Winthrop 

Commissioners, County 

Commissioners, Fish and Game 

Commissioners, State 

Concord Gore 

Concrete Sidewalks 

Connecticut, Early Settlers from 

Congdon, Andrew J, 

Congdon, F. E. . 

Congdon, George M 

Congdon, Seneca B. 

Connary, John 

Con nary, Mary 

Connary, Patrick 

Connary, Simon 

Connary, Thomas 

Conner, Charles E 

Conner, Harlow 

Conroy, Michael 

Cook, Warren 

Coolidge, H. O. 

Cooper, Moses 

Cooper, Saunders W 

Cods County Democrat . .226 

Coos County 

Coos Country 

Coos He?'ald 

Coos Hotel . 

Cods Republican . 

Copp, Harrison 

Corning, B. H. 

Corning, Martha A. 

Corrigan, E. P. 

Corson, Levi J. 

Corson, William A. 

Cossitt, George A. 

Costello, John 



229 



230 



38, 



399 



23 



89-90 
38, 401, 410 



496 
39- 450. 537 



388 
325 

549 



233, 234, 267, 335, 398, 399 
335, 339, 454, 368, 453, 457 



■33, 



261 
335, 338, 454. 

272, 276, 



232, 234, 335, 336, 393, 

529, 534, 535, 536, 538, 

324, 



- 594 
559 
594 
455 

-124 

438 

395 
121 
121 
121 

535 
535 
534 

35 
150 

, 187 

, 535 

339 

, 525 

, 594 

449 

449 

, 449 

, 558 

449 

, 551 

556 

340 

483 

394 

121 

- 535 
. 459 

124 

1-17 

460 

-262 

■ 457 

371 

337 

495 

505 

557 

557 

468 

550 
401 



6o6 



INDEX. 



Cotton, George 
Cotton, Isaac F. . 
Cotton, Isaac N. . 
Coult, Rev. A. C. 
Councilor, State . 
County Commissioners 
County Coroners . 
County Solicitors . 
County Treasurers 
Court-houses 
Couture, Charles . 
Cragie, Charles 
Cram, Celinda 
Cram, Emeline J. 
Cram, Francis 
Cram, Humphrey 
Cram, John . 
Cram, Jonathan . 
Cram, Polly 
Crandall, Adna . 
Crawford, Ethan . 
Crawford, Ethan A. 
Crawford, Gertrude P. 
Crawford, John C. 
Crawford, Hon. John G 
Crawford, Maria . 
Crawford, Rosebrook 
Crawford, Sally 
Crawford, Thomas J. 
Crawshaw, J. W. 
Creamer, Rev. Fr. M. J 
Crosby, Elisha 
Crosby, Mehitabel 
Cross, Benjamin . 
Cross, David 
Cross, Col. Edward E. 
Cross, Col. Ephraim 



Cross, Francis L. 
Cross, Jeremy L. 
Cross, Nellie W. 
Cross, Gen. Nelson 
Cross, Col. Richard E. 
Culver, Rev. David 
Cummings, Alexander 
Cummings, Dr. E. G. 



511 

340, 500. 



190. 537 
90, 193, 262, 326. 



59, 90, 191. 193, 326, 327, 397, 536 



339 

11^ 241 
179 



388, 



328, 339, 450 



195. 538 

145, 146, 148, 325, 455, 456, 457, 504, 550 

. 95, 192, 228, 333, 348, 358, 379 

406, 486, 515, 523, 527, 528, 529 

534. 537. 538, 540. 541, 546, 547 



246, 248 

267, 555 

456, 457, 555 



594 
560 

436 
438 
531 

535 
537 
535 
535 
-514 
556 
562 
191 
501 
540 
397 
131 
540 
190 
548 
334 
508 

494 
336 

. 539 

250 

. 434 
190 

515 
492 

,498 

40 

190 

121 

. 539 

. 554 

. 392 

. 532 

. 593 

551 

485 

. 249 

,581 

,556 

436 

557 

479 



INDEX. 



607 



Cunimings, George 
Cummings, George A. 
Cummings, George W. 
Cummings, Henry J. 
Cummings, James 
Cummings, Pearl . 
Cummings, S. E. 
Cumner, Nathaniel VV. 
Cunningham, T. . 
Currier, Ezra 
Currier, George W. 
Currier, John 
Currier, Sylvanus 
Curtis, James 
Curtis, James H. . 
Curtis, William 
Gushing, Dr. E. B. 
Gushing, Stetson Ward 
Gushing, W. M. . 
Cushman, Elisha . 
Cushman, Lewis P. 
Cutter, Ammi R. . 
Cutter, Nancy 

Daggett, Joseph . 

Daggett, Roxanna 

Daggett, William 

Daley. John 

Dana, Daniel 

Dana, David 

Danforth, H. H. . 

Danforth, Rev. L. R. 

Danforth, W. R. 

Danner, Rev. M. P. 

Darby, Abijah 

Darby, Benjamin H. 

Darby, Ezra 

Darby, George 

Darby, Isaac 

Darby, James H. 

Darby, Moses 

Darby, William 

"Dark Year," The 

Darling, Flora Adams 

"Dartmouth College Lands' 

Davenport, Eli 

Davenport, Nathaniel M. 



394. 



67, 



340, 388 

542 

556, 558 

552, 556 

557 

• 505 
420 
490 

338, 559 
195 
491 
192 
121 

• 77, 87 
394 
192 
480 

490, 491, 492 

325- 559 

512 

438 

32 

192 

193 

192 

40 

542 

483, 48s 

397 

395 

339. 440 
395 
450 

59. 376 
550 
413 
192 

t3i, 373, 553 
552 
191 

594 
124 
258 
[07-109 
121 
500 



6o8 



INDEX. 



Davenport, Phineas 

Davis, Albert Bradley 

Davis, G. 

Davis, Moses 

Day, Eliphalet 

Day, F. N. . 

Day, Morrill C. 

Day, N. D. 

Day, Oliver P. 

Dean, John 

Dearborn, Reuben 

Dearth, Jonathan 

Deaths of Prominent People from Settlement 

Debating Clubs 

Deering, J. E. 

De Forest, Mills 

Delegates to National Political Conventions 

Denison, Bailey . 

Denison, Charles P. 

Denison, Henry W. 

Denison, John M. 

Denison, John P. 

Denison, Noyes S. 

Denison, Rebecca 

Denison, Sophronia 

Denison, Thomas 

Denison, William 

Dentists 

Derby, Andrew 

Derby, Edwin R. 

Derby, Isaac 

Derby, John G. . 457. 500' 524, 5^6, 527 

Dewey, James 

Dewey, Dr. John . 

Dexter, Dr. George T. 

Dexter, Orrin R. . 

Dexter, Robert 

Diamond Granite Works, Th 

Dickson, R. W. . 

Dietrich, Christian 

Dimmick, John E. 

Dinsmore, Dr. Freedom 

Dinsmore, Sanford E. . 

Diphtheria . 

Directories of the Village at Various Times 

Dodge, John 

Dodge, Luimer 



f the 



528, 
13'- 



Fown 



131, 



529, 
261, 



till I 



131, 
209, 



418, 419, 



850 



364, 



515' 



93- 



499, 500, 

535, 537, 

515, 

27, 537, 



-09- 537, 
479- 

418, 
510, 

530, 531, 55°, 551, 
364, 

275- 336, 383, 3S4, 
477, 479, 547, 
121, 



338, 
240, 
336. 

263 
333- 



121 

457 
492 
121 
121 

395 
557 
269 

557 
537 
437 
40 
-194 
184 
505 
483 
532 
548 
555 
458 
546 

559 
546 

427 
427 

539 

546 

-480 

577 
419 

577 
559 
547 
516 
550 

553 
340 

391 

406 

371 
537 
478 

558 
-264 
-340 

12 I 



INDEX. 



609 



Dodge, W. F. 
DoUofF, Charles L. 
Domestic Life 
Dooley, Fred 
Douglass, Ira G. 
Dow, Alden A. 
Dow, Ernest 
Dow, John . 
Dow, Jonathan 
Dow, Louise 
Draper, George 
Drew, Holman A. 
Drew, Hon. Irving W. 



Drew, Lizzie F. 
Drisco, Ralph L. 
Druggists, The 
Dudley, J. H. 
Dufoe, Edward 
Duncan, John 
Durgin, Timothy 
Dustin, Phebe 
Dyer, Joseph 
Dyke, " Brother " 

Eagan, Michael 

Eager, Fortunatus 

Eames, Capt. Jeremiah 

Eames, Jeremiah, Jr. 

Eames, Rev. Joseph 

Eames, Lois 

Eames, Seth 

Eames, Thomas . 

Early, Michael 

Eastern Star, Olive Branch Chapter of the Or 

Eastman, Amos 

Eastman, Edwin F. 

Eastman, George V. 

Eastman, John C. 

Eastman, L. L. 

Eastman, Nellie . 

Eastman, Philastus 

Eastman, Richard 



Eaton, Charles 
Eaton, George R. 
Edmunds, Nena H. 
39 



490, 
90, 340- 
337> 
557> 
499. 

9I' 349' 



243, 277, 336, 339, 370, 394, 395, 
402, 452, 474, 521, 532, 534, 539, 



der of 



490, 
480- 



167, 190, 223, 225, 383, 
512, 513, 533, 535, 536, 



395 
491 

-349 
339 

558 

559 
562 

373 
558 
469 
192 
456 
401 

552 
476 
491 
-483 
395 
376 

40 
191 

93 
483 
183 



557 
59, 209 

n. 81 

562 

339, 452, 489, 491 

189 

191 

308 

559 

493-495 

I 

28, 547 

364 

488, 490 

437 
458 

593 

413, 416, 417, 428, 509 
538, 540, 541, 546, 585 

276 

311^ 394, 395, 402, 535 
494 



'y:>^ 



34> 444. 5 



6io 



INDEX. 



Education . 




, 












1 64-1 


71, 402-421 


Egypt 








319 


Ellis, Thomas S. 


145 


337. 


388, 


395, 490, 492, 493, 499, 500, 542, 560 


Ellis, William G. 








258, 388, 499. 543. 552, 557. 559 


Ellis, W. H. 








390 


Ellison, Harpless 








560 


Emerson, David . 








413 


Emerson, Edward 








401, 541, 542 


Emerson, George H. 








338, 399, 400, 401, 458, 459, 499, 500 
530. 532, 534. 539. 552, 559. 593 


Emerson, Jacob . 








190 


Emerson, Richard H. . 


















458, 560 


Emery, Stephen . 


















• 499 


Emmons, Rev. Henry V 


















• 431 


English, John 


















121, 553 


Epidemics . 


















259-266 


Evans, Albion G. 


















325. 337 


Evans, A. R. 


















395 


Evans, C. H. 


















492 


Evans, C. W. 


















■ 505 


Evans, Etta A. 


















505 


Evans, E. W. 


















• 492 


Evans, J. . 


















401 


Evans, M. B. 


















• 505 


Evans, Samuel G. 


















33S. 368 


Evans, S. N. 


















• 338 


Everett, Drusilla . 


















191. 477 


Everett, E. A. 


















335 


Everett House 


















332 


Everett, Persis F. 
















192, 423, 427 


Everett, Hon. Richard Clair 




34, 48, 51, 63, 94, 189, 193, 209, 215 


248, 371, 382, 396, 397, 462, 4S3, 533 


536, 538. 540, 545. 546, 553^ 562, 573 


Fabyan, Horace G 499 


Farnham, Dolly . 


















190 


Farnham, Dorcas 


















190 


Fai'nham, Edwin . 


















560 


Farnham, Elden . 


















• 505 


Farnham, Eliza . 


















192 


Farnham, George 


















244, 38S, 537 


Farnham, Hannah 


















191 


Farnham, Joel 


















121,553 


Farnham, John 


















• 388 


Farnham, John M. 


















560 


Farnham, Joseph . 


















191, 193 



INDEX. 



6ll 



Farnham, Mary . 
Farnham, Ransom J. 
Farnham, William H. . 
Farrar, Tryphena 
Farrar, Deacon William 

Farrar, William H. 

Farrington, Charles D. 

Faulkner, Persis . 

P^aulkner, Sally 

Faulkner, Sylvester 

Faulkner, Timothy 

Fay, Rev. Prescott 

Fay, Solomon 

Federal Appointments . , 

Felch, Nathan 

Fernald, Mary 

Fernald, Payson E. 

Ferries Across Connecticut River 

Field, Daniel 

Field, John E. 

File Works . 

Fires, Main Street 

Fire Department . 

Fire Wards . 

Fish .... 

Fish and Game Commissioners 

Fisher, G. C. 

Fishing 

Fisk, Anson 

Fisk. Frederick . . 158, 267 

Fisk, Henry 

Fisk, Orange 

Fisk, William C. . 

Fitch, Rev. John . 

Flanders, James . 

Flanders, James R. 

Flanders, Joseph W. 

Flanders, Walter P. 

Fletcher, Charles W. 

Fletcher, Everett . 

Fletcher, Hiram A. . . 256 

Fletcher, Kimball B. 

Fletcher, Kimball B., Jr. 

Fletcher, Mira B. 

Fletcher, Richard 



335 



371 



131, 167, 192, 194, 407, 416, 

433. 463, 509, 534. 535. 
418, 



Z7^, 



385, 



387, 



390, 



98- 



436, 



98, 
436, 



'53 

527 
527- 



15,528, 



488, 491, 
504, 505. 534, 



505 
388 

558 

427 
427 

S37 
419 

557 
190 
192 
190 
397 
431 
40 

532 
181 

50s 
505 
100 

337 
594 
391 
-155 
-531 
-531 
311 

535 
421 
102 
267 

594 
203 

557 
335 
426 

499 
496 



336, 
335. 



339. .394. 395. 420, 474. 497. 534. 
336, 373. 393. 394, 399. 444. 466, 
328, 337, 385, 394, 444, 525, 529, 

390. 



535 
420 

557 
545 
545 
531 
531 
473 
499, 538, 557 



6l2 



INDEX. 



Flood, T. L. 
Foley, Michael J. 
Folsom, Alice 
Folsom, Dr. James D. 
Folsom, Susan 
Folsom, William A. 
Foote, Elijah 
Forbes, Addie P. 
Forbes, Charles 
Forbes, Erastus W. 
Forbush, Henry C. 
Foresters, Catholic Order 
Forest, Merrill C. 
Foshy, George W. 
Foshy, Joseph 
Fort Weare . 
Fort Wentworth . 
Foster, Maj.-Gen. John G. 
Foster, Perley 
Fowle, Susan 
Fowler, Andrew J. 
Fox, Edward 
Fraternal Societies 
Freeman, Alonzo P. 
Freeman, Harmony 
Freeman, James S. 
Freeman, Mercy . 
Freeman, Orville E. 
Freema.i, Porter G. 
Freeman, Reuben G. 
Freeman, Reuben W. 
Freeman, Sally 
Freeman, William P. 
French, Charles . 
French, George C. 
French, James 
French, John 
French, John J. . 
Frickey, John 
Frost, Great (1764) 
Frost, Oliver 
Freewill Baptists . 
Fountain, Benton Memorial 
Fountain, Kent Memorial 
Fuller, Calvin 
Fuller, Fred 
Fuller, Hezekiah . 



33^ 



236, 



374 



336, 



383. 



478, 



489, 495, 536, 



500, 
2,37' 



483- 
27, 68, 



385, 524, 529, 549, 
427, 430, 433, 



19I' 433. 



160- 
159- 

82, 



438 
498 
497 
555 

502 

530 
485 
502 

556 
557 
340 
498 

399 

563 

556 

77 

. 19 

204 
203 
190 

557 
388 
-505 

594 
191 

551 
427 

550 
593 
564 
540 
191 

433 
562 

558 
121 
121 
483 
77 

22 

383 
452 
161 
160 
556 
562 
380 



INDEX. 



613 



Fuller, Jeremiah . 

Fuller, Lemuel 

Fuller, Luther 

Fuller, Peter 

Furniture, Manufacture of 

Gage, Rev. David 

Gaines, Oscar 

Game . 

Games in Early Times 

Gamsby, George . 

Gamsby, John 

Gamsby, Peter 

Gardner, Rowse B. 

Garland, B. C. 

Garland, Eben C. 

Gay, Abner 

Gazette, The Independent 

Gazette, The Lancaster 

Gazette, The New Hanipshh 

Geology of Lancaster 

Geno, Michael 

George, Ruth E. . 

George, William . 

Gerrish, Samuel J. 

Gibson, J. A. 

Giddings, Tempa 

Gil key, H. B. 

Gillespie, Edward 

Gleason, Patrick . 

Glines, Rev. George A 

Glines, Lsrael 

Glines, John 

Glover, Samuel 

GofFe, Col. John . 

Going, Ashael 

Going, Charles A. 

Goodall, David 

Goodrich, George A. 

Goodrich, Rev. J. B. 

Goodwin, Wells . 

Going, Dr. Charles 

Gore, Concord 

Gorham, L B. 

Gormley, O. J. 

Goss, Frank 

Goss, H. L 



374, 



[31. 



121 
121 

121 
I go 

557 
311 
349 
192 

83 
121 

436 

395 
;83, 444 

121 

338, 459 

459 

43 

!8l-282 

557 
427 

453 
388 

437 
190 
492 



556 
451 
2, i7> 317 
2, 17, 317 
. 191 
34, 307 
'94, 331, 334 
546 

337 
383 
536, 451, 452 
121 

• 478 
35 

267, 379 

• 498 

• 457 
469 



6i4 



INDEX. 



Goss, Natlianiel . 
Goss, Dr. Nathaniel 
Goss, Sarah Ann 
Gotham, C. H. 
Gotham, Lavinia . 
Gotham, Robert . 
Gotham, Ruth 
Gotham, Samuel . 
Gould, Andalusia 
Gould, Asa 
Gould, George 
Govan, Rev. Andrew- 
Gove, Ira S. M. . 
Gove, John M. 
Governor 
Grand Army of the Republic 
Grange, Mount Prospect 
Grange Village 
Grannis, Timothy 
Grant, Frank C. . 
Grant, F. W. 
Grant, Jonathan . 
Grant, Richard M. J. 
Grantees of Lancaster 
Graves, C. A. 
Graves, H. A. 
Gray, Hosea 
Gray, Joseph M. . 
Gray, Reuben 
Great Brook '"'"^ . 
Green, Daniel 
Green, Elisha B. 
Green, Frank 
Green, James 
Green, Joseph S. 
Greene, S. J. ^"^-v 
Greenleaf, A. C. . 
Greenleaf, Alfred 
Greenleaf, David . 
Greenleaf, Eunice 
Greenleaf, Joseph 
Greenleaf, Mary . 
Greenleaf, Nancy . 
Greenleaf, Sally . 
Greenleaf, Seth 
Greeley, Horace, in Lancaster 
Griffing, C. L. . 



399 



444. 



131. 



535. 



537. 



267, 



194. 



538, 



367. 



272 



394, 



476, 



121 , 
418, 



426, 

545. 555. 



499- 

383. 

505. 

39. 
499. 

444. 528, 
145. 



444. 



334, 382, 553. 



272. 
238. 



540 

477 
192 

339 
192 

553 
191 
553 
419 
267 
340 
441 

593 
269 

531 

-502 

504 

411 

145 
556 
496 
396 
559 
9 
483 
492 
529 
559 
560 

318 

439 
121 

339 
121 

53S 
457 
554 
335 
577 
192 
548 

577 
191 
191 
323 
239 
459 



INDEX. 



615 



Griswold, Charles L. 
Griswold, Sarah E. 
Guernsey, Aaron 
Guernsey, H. I. 
Guernsey, H. J. 
Guernsey, J. W. 
Gun House, The Old Red 
Gunsmiths . 
Gustin, Polly 

Hadley, Robert 
Hadley, Stephen 
Hadley, William H. 
Hadlock, Hezekiah E. 
Hagerman, Theodore 
Haines, John S. . 
Hale, Daniel 
Hale, Ensign Ephraim 
Hale, Israel 
Hale, Israel, Jr. . 
Hall, Ella F. 
Hall, Enoch 
Hall, Gustavus A. 
Hall. Henry 
Hall, James H. . 
Hall, T. S. . 
Hamblen, E. B. . 
Hamblen, Jacob . 
Hamilton, Peter . 
Hannaford, J. R. 
Hannux, Samuel . 
Harden, William . 
Hardy, James 
Hardy, John W. . 
Harness- makers and Saddlers 
Harriman, H. C. . 
Harriman, Otis B. 
Harriman, William J 
Harrington, Rev. Charles E. 
Harrington, George L. 
Harrington, Josiah 
Harris, Mrs. J. B. 
Hart, Joseph 
Hart, Samuel 
Hartford, George A. 
Hartford, M. E. . 
Hartford, N. W. . 



267, 



528, 



336.367, 530 


494 


375' 394 


401 


542 


• 437 


516-517 


373 


190 


• • 497 


334, 376 


420 


499, 559' 560 


■ 558 


• 334 


40 


2 


40 


40 


502 


82 


• 554 


121 


538, 549, 550 


482 


369, 478 


335, 337 


122 




497 




131 




560 




553 




436 




378 


267, 418 


• 559 


541,594 


336, 432 


• 557 


551 


246 


325, 557 


60 


245, 537 


• 439 


3 


40, 371 



6i6 



INDEX. 



Hartford, Stephen 
Hartford, M. E. . 
Hartley, Mary 
Hartley, Philip 
Hartley, William H. 
Hartshorn, Harry C. 
Hartshorn, Lilla . 
Hartshorn, Lydia 
Hartwell, Betsey . 
Hartwell, George F. 
Hartwell, Rev. Henry H 
Hartwell, Jonathan 
Hartwell, Polly . 
Hartwell, Samuel 
Harvey, James 
Hastings, Moses A. 
Hatch, Kate 
Hatch, Obed S. . 
Hatch, W. I. 
Hatch, W. W. . 
Hatters 
Haven, John 
Hawley, Betsey Libbey 
Hayes, Benjamin 
Hayes, Frederick O. 
Hayes, Harry 
Hayes, J. F. C. . 
Hayes, Lucinda 
Hayes, Stephen . 
Hays, Joanna 
Hazen, Ann 
Hazen, Gen. Moses 
Hazen, L. T. 
Head, Edmund 
Heath, Nelson 
Heath, William H. 
Heath, William M. 
Hemmenway, Clarissa 
Hemmenway, George B 
Hemmenway, Joel 
Hemmenway, Lucy 
Hemmenway, Solomon 
Henderson, Joseph 
Hendley, Rev. C. J. 
Hendricks, William W. 
Heney, Thomas . 
Hening, Crawford D. 



137 



474 



194 



487, 



267, 



490, 



590, 



491. 



368, 369, 
437. 



492> 493' 534- 



383, 



540, 



193' 



194, 



505- 
458- 



338, 
378- 



04, 267, 



325- 

546, 548, 
409, 429, 
452, 494, 



388 

497 
502 
542 
542 
459 
505 
190 
191 
528 
439 
193 
190 
191 
121 
552 
494 
121 

378 
524 
-379 
193 
190 
192 

559 
562 

453 
191 

554 
194 

193 
88 

395 
483 
560 

551 
490 

427 
409 

554 
191 

541 
121 

495 
500 

498 

339 









INDEX. 




617 


Henry, Samuel . . . . . . . . . . .121 


Herald, The Prohibition 










• 459 


Herald, The Coos 










460 


Hetson, William B. 










• ■ • 558 


Heywood, Francis 










325. 557 


Heywood, Henry 










336, 401, 474, 535 


Heywood, Hon. William 




234. 


275. 


335' 336,: 


98, 399, 451, 466, 520, 


Hibbard, Hon. Harry . 










225, 420 


Hibbard, Nat. 










• 453 


Hicks, John 










121, 553 


Hill, Aaron 










190 


Hill, Charles A. . 










■ • • 338 


Hill, Edward 










• 337 


Hill, Henry 










437, 550 


Hill, L. . . . 










• 437 


Hilliard, Alma P. 










.505 


Hilliard, Charles . 










203, 547 


Hilliard, Emily T. 










• 505 


Hilliard, H. DeF. 










• 497 


Hilliard, Capt. Henry S. 


8 


9, 92 


401, 


406, 499, 


500, 505, 535, 542, 555 


Himes, Rev. William Lloyd 


. 








• 452 


Hinds, Abraham . 










256, 462, 535, 542 


Hinds, H. W. . 










. 492 


Hines, William . 










• 397 


Hinman, Joseph . 










. 326 


Hinman, H. B. . 










. 492 


Hobart, Harry 










• 547 


Hobart, Josiah 










• 131 


Hobart, Josiah G. 










513,547 


Hodgdon, Annie J. 










• 505 


Hodgdon, Betsey 










190 


Hodgdon, Charles S. . 










541, 551 


Hodgdon, Charles W. 










594 


Hodgdon, Dudley N., 2d 










594 


Hodgdon, H. G. 










• 593 


Hodgdon, Irving D. 












505 


Hodgdon, John W. 












267, 413, 541, 546 


Hodgdon, Olivia . 












192 


Hodgdon, Phinehas 












90, 552 


Hodgdon, Phineas R. 












499, 559 


Hodgdon, R. L. . 












594 


Hodgdon, Thomas 












194 


Hodgdon, Thomas S. 












235, 267 


Hodgdon, W. C. 












• • 505 


Hodge, I. A. 












• 559 


Hodge, Joseph E. 












• • • 558 



6i8 



INDEX. 



Hodge, Joseph K. 
Hodgson, Rufus . 
Hogg, Jolin 
Holbrook, John . 
Holbrook, Sheldon 
HoHdays, In Early Times 
Holkins, Olive B. 
Holkins, William 
Holman, William W. 
Holmes, Asa 
Holmes, Betsey . 
Holmes, Daniel 
Holmes, Dorcas . 
Holmes, John 
Holmes, John M. 
Holmes, Lemuel . 
Holmes, Martha . 
Holmes, William 
Holt, Rev. Kilburn 
Holton, Edward D. 
Holton, Fred 
Holton, Homestead 
Holton, Horace F. 
Holton, James 
Holton, Joseph 
Hood, Asa . 
Hoogs, Edward . 
Hooper, Josiah 
Hopkins, Hannah 
Hopkins, John M. 
Hopkins, T. A. . 
Hopkins, Thomas 
Hopkinson, Isaac W. 
Hopkinson, John H. 
Hopkinson, Joshua 
Horan, James 
Horn, William 
Hoskins, Robert 
Hosmer, Lewis 
Hosmer, L. R. 
Hosmer, Riley 
Hotels, The 
Hotels 

American House 

Coos 

Elm Cottage 



19. 



370. 



176, 



59 
121 



323' 574, 
504, 
329, 332, 354, 

528, 535- 



398, 



337> 



41, 5 



145' 

198 

47, 564, 



339' 



401, 505, 531, 
338, 394, 



514- 

339, 350, 514, 
123, 



560 

335 
5' 6 

83 

121 

-207 

427 

593 
421 

397 
191 

553 
191 

121 

553 
397 
192 
512 
451 
583 
505 
514 
541 
323 
131 
192 
458 
438 
190 
516 
498 
563 
542 
529 
190 
49S 

5'3 
121 

499 
505 
?>?>7 
-517 
515 
515 
515 
516 



INDEX. 



619 



Hotels, continued. 

Green's Cottage 
Lancaster House 
Stewart House 
Temperence House 
Williams House 

Houghton, Neh. . 

Houses, Some Old 

Hovey, Jonathan 

Hovey, Paschal 

Hovey, Richard . 

Hovey, Ruth A. . 

Hovey, Stephen . 

How, Charles 

How, Daniel 

Howard, Leonard W. 

Howard, Lewis 

Howard, Rev. Thomas 

Howe, Charles 

Howe, Charles A. 

Howe, Daniel 

Howe, Edward 

Howe, George 

Howe, Harvey 

Howe, John C. 

Howe, Joseph 

Howe, Joseph D. 

Howe, Lupy 

Howe, Lydia 

Howe, Nathan 

Howe, Samuel 

Howe, Selden C. 

Hoyt, Rev. Benjamin R. 

Huckins, John 

Huggins, William 

Hunking, Dr. Benjamin 

Hunking, Benjamin F. 



Hunnux, Elizabeth 
Hunnux House 
Hunnux, Samuel . 
Hunt, John . 
Hunt, Moses T. . 
Hunter, Johnson C. 
Huntoon, George 
Huntoon, Greenleaf 



244 



394 



420. 



439' 



155. 157 



390, 490 



340 

304, 337, 338 
328, 416, 504, 530 



350. 436 



413, 436, 437, 
492, 504, 535, 537. 



436. 



131, 191, 238, 257, 260, 267, 336, 
444, 477, 485, 486, 533, 542, 564, 

327, 418, 419, 489, 490, 493. 

504, 516, 533, 536, 538, 564. 



13I' 191 



516 

515 
S16 
516 
516 
121 
332 
528 

550 
493 
493 
261 

40 
190 
557 
438 
447 
378 
531 
193 

60 
516 
267 
427 

593 
542 
508 
427 
43& 
397 
505 
437 
191 
I9t 
358 
593 
495 
594 
193 
335 
372 
192 

383 
337 
122 



620 



INDEX. 



Huntoon, Willard 
Hurd, Col. John . 
Hurlburt, Silas 
Hurley, Patrick 
Hutchins, Alpheus 
Hutchins, Frank D. 
Hutchins, G. E. . 
Hutchins, J. C. 
Hutchins, "Mother" 
Hutchins, Ruth Stockwell 
Hutchins, Stilson 

Indians 
Indian Brook 
Independent Gazette 
Ingerson, C. H. . 
Ingerson, Douglas 
Ingerson, Edgar . 
Ingerson, Frederick 
Ingerson. George 
Ingerson, George W. 
Ingerson, John S. 
Ingerson, W. E. . 
Insects 

Insurance Co., The Coos Mu 
Irish, J. C. . 
Israels River 



Jackson, Alfred L. 
Jackson, Peyton . 
Jackson, Willard . 
Jackson, Willard A. 
Jails 

Jacobs, Proctor 
Jaques, Robert 
Jaques, Thomas . 
Jarvis, Edward 
Jarvis, William 
Jenness, John C. 
Jenison, Thomas . 
Jenison, Hopestill 
Jennison, Samuel 
Joe, Captain 
John, Captain 
Johns River . 
Johnson, Allen 
Johnson, A. T. 



tual Fire 











121 




• 53, 72 






487 






340 


121, 192, 


553 


569 


394, 395, 452, 


474, 


521 

492 










492 






181 

1 


-183 

-4, I 
338, 
134, 

486, 


435 

272 
181 

4-17 
317 

459 
340 
554 
538 
558 
553 






67, 


371, 
338, 
398 


511 
333 

525 

292 

-400 

421 


12, 14, 17. 6: 


..64, 


317 


• 




559 










560 










335 










559 








510 


-511 
401 
388 
388 
559 
559 








556, 


559 
191 








546, 


562 

26 

308 

308 








:, 17, 
444. 


317 
558 
594 



INDEX. 



621 



Johnson, Daniel T. 
Johnson, Emily . 
Johnson, George H. 
Johnson, John 
Johnson, L. 
Johnson, Moses . 
Johnson, Samuel . 
Johnson, William 
Jones, Alexander . 
Jones, Dr. Dan Lee 
Jones, Dennis 
Jones, Edwin R. . 
Jones, Emma F. M. 
Jones, Frank 
Jones, Harry 
Jones, Harry H. . 
Jones, S. A. 
Jones, William T. 
Jordan, Hon. Chester B 



Jordan, Hollis 
Jordan, John 
Joyslin House 
Joyslin, Julia J. 
Joyslin, Levi B. 
Joyslin, Royal 



336, 



50, 



339. 



242, 
475. 



1 13, 129, 131, 225, 
365, 366, 370, 385, 



Joyslin, Rev. William R. . ... 

Judges of Probate .... 

Justices of the Court of Common Pleas . 
Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature 
Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court . 



Kane, Charles H. 
Keeler, S. C. 
Kehew, F. A. 
Kellogg, S. G. 
Keir, H. A. 
Kellum, Daniel 
Kellum, Francis 
Kellum, John 
Kenerson, Eli 
Kenerson, Ezra 
Kent, Annie O. 
Kent, Bernice A 
Kent, Charles N. 



01, 107, 
59- 

479' 494. 
134. 

557: 

394. 



243. 245, 339' 394' 395' 4i5' 
490. 532, 533' 534' 537. 539: 



545' 
227, 234, 25S, 267, 269, 331, 

393' 452' 4^7' 509' 523' 527^ 
536, 542, 
33, 418, 419. 



335' 373 



55S 
192 

505 
372 
269 

420 

539 
189 
122 
556 
554 
558 
495 
395 
339 
497 
421 

3':«> 
458 
545 

32>7 
S5& 
333 
427 
593 
335 
528 
593 
551 
533 
533 
533 
533 



557 

• 438 
455' 459 

• 438 

• 525 
449 

240, 449, 537, 542 

449 

• 554 
436 
494 
501 

160, 460, 456 



622 



INDEX. 



Kent, Debby A. . 
Kent, Col. Edward R. 

Kent, Emily Mann 
Kent, George N. . 
Kent. Col. Henrv O. 



Kent, Henry Percy 
Kent, James S. 
Kent, Mary R. . 
Kent, Nellie B. . 
Kent, Nelson 
Kent, Richard P. 



i6o, 336, 338, 366 
494, 524, 525 



138, 145, 234, 236 

324. 349, 393, 395 
518, 524, 529, 532 



113, 127, 129, 131 

327, 328, 331, 333 

372, 393 



Kidder, Amos 
Kier, Alexander 
Kilby, John 
Kimball, Albert 
Kimball, C. E. 
Kimball, George 
Kimball, J. M. . 
Kimball, Dr. O. H. 
Kimball, R. G. . 
Kimball, Thomas H. 
King, Charles E. 
King, James A. . 
King, James N. . 
Kingsley, E. W. . 
Knapp, Joshua 
Knight, Amaziah 
Knight, Shepard . 
Knip, Harvey 
Koster, John S. . 

Labare, Joseph , 

Labare, Peter 

Ladd, Fletcher 

Ladd, Hon. William S 

Laforce, Fred 

Lamb, Caleb 

Lamkin, Joshua . 

Lamson, Reuben . 

Lancaster Gazeite, The 

Lancaster, First Settlement of 



24; 



336 



394 



394, 395, 401, 487. 
526, 527, 530, 531 



238, 239, 240, 242, 

398, 400, 418, 454, 

533, 534, 536, 538' 

551^ 

394 



336, 366, 367, 
160, 234, 248, 255, 
335, 336, 337, 365, 
394, 397, 452, 524. 



595' 



472, 



513, 



93, 445 
490, 491, 493 

545, 593, 594 

160 

328, 496 

244, 245, 306 

473, 487, 499 

543, 545, 549 

554, 591, 593 

395, 398, 476 

145, 560 

415,416 

494 
398, 444, 594 
267, 269, 275 
366, 367, 370 
528, 529, 593 

437 
562 
191 
246 
338 
483 
378 
480 

594 
203 

05, 556 
558 
556 

459 
122 

J2I, 553 

yoi^ 373, 436 
558 
338 



504, 5 



339' 
533, 



18 



122 
460, 474 

535, 537 

• 338 

436 

87 

423 

257, 339 

. 172-173 



INDEX. 



623 



Lancaster, Grantees of . 
Lancaster House .... 
Lancaster, Location of . 
Lancaster Manufacturing Co. 
Lancaster, Organization of the Town of 
Lancaster, Relocation of Boundaries of 
Lands, Original Allotment of 
Lancaster Public Library, The 
Lane Brothers' Clothing Co. 
Lane, Eben 
Lane, G. A. 
Lane, George W. 
Lane, Gorham 
Lang, Andrew J. 
Lang, David R. 
Lang, John 
Langdon, John 
Langworthy, R. M 
Lapointe, Louis 
Largy, Marquis 
Larkin, Charles A 
Larned, Abel 
Larned, Abijah 
Larned, David 
Larson, Peter 
Lary, Joseph 
Laton, Abigail 
Lawson, David 
Leary, Michael 
Leavens, Abel 
Leavens, Abel, Jr 
Leavens, Fanny 
Leavens, Francis 
Leavenworth, B. M 
Leavitt, Eugene 
Lee, Charles 
LeGro, Amos 
LeGro, Abigail 
LeGro, David 
LeGro, Eliza 
LeGro, Eunice 
LeGro, Hannah 
LeGro, James 
LeGro, Dr. Samuel 
LeGro, Samuel H. . . . 276, 323, 

490. 535. 



192, 



28, 



518- 
371- 



245. 
67, 358, 



537. 541 



436, 



238, 541, 

180, 192, 234, 236, 240, 

325, 386, 387, 394, 395, 439, 

536, 541, 542, 550, 551, 593, 



9 

515 

28 

338 
38 
28 
36 

■521 
•372 
191 

492 

537 
428 

558 
420 

383 
179 

496 
558 
498 
559 
.85 
, 77 

77 
558 
558 
191 

40 
560 
192 
548 
192 
192 
525 
495 
388 

593 
192 

325 
191 
192 
192 

594 
477 
487 

594 



624 



INDEX. 



Leith, Dr. W. H. 
Leonard, Benjamin F. 
Lessard, Rev. H. 
Lewis, Alden 
Lewis, Lieut. John G., 
Lewis, Horatio O. 
Libbey, Henry C. 
Lilley, Alexander 
Lincoln, Luke 
Lindsey, Carrie B. 
Lindsey, Freeman 
Lindsey, John 
Lindsey, John M. 
Lindsey, Ned A. . 
Lindsey, Nelson B. 
Lindsey, Samuel . 
Lindsey, Wallace . 
Lindsey, William W. 
Linscott, Fred S. 
Little, Rev. E. P. 
Little, VVheelock H. 
Livermore, Judge Arthur 
Localities, Names of 
Locke, John H. . 
Long, Henry 
Long, Timothy 
Loomis, John 
Lord, John . 
Lord, Samuel A. . 
Lome, James S. . 
Lotcher, Edward . 
Lougee, M. B. 
Lovejoy, Abiel 
Lovejoy, Artemas 
Lovejoy, George . 
Lovejoy, John W. 
Lovejoy, Prescott 
Lovejoy, Hon. William 

Lovewell, Nathan 
Loyne, Rev. W. A. 
Lynds, Ziba 
Lucas, Frank M. . 
Lucas, George W. 
Lucas, Harvey H. 
Lucas, James S. . 



155 



271 



72, 



401, 



138, 



339. 



325^ 

252, 325' 555^ 
325^ 



444> 516, 5 



338. 497, 
32, 
!i6. 



55' 



411, 412, 540. 
131^ 



232, 267, 430, 528, 535, 
548, 

131, 167, 190, 194, 397, 416, 485, 492 
531, 534, 536, 538, 539. 540, 541, 

59. 



122 

558 

325 



479 
337 
450 

558 
558. 

559 
276 
560 
40 
516 
557 
529 
550 
516 

557 

122 

68 
538 
542 
452 
492 
512 
-320 

383 
560 

498 
203 

43& 
420 

558 
559 
492 
541 
513 
439 
539 
550 
,510 

593 
189 

492 
131 
556 
553 
559 
558 



INDEX. 



62 i 



Lucas, John 
Lucas, Levi . 
Lyman, Dr. Eliphalet 
Lyon, William E. 

Macomber, Thomas 
Magoon,. Garvin R. 
Mahoney, Daniel . 
Mahurin, Ephraim 
Mahurin, Ephraim H. 
Mahurin, W. C. . 
Mails, The . 
Mann, Benjamin . 
Mann, John 
Manning, E. T. . 
Manufacturing, First 
Marble, Samuel 
Marden, Fanny 
Marden, George W. 
Marden, James 
Marden, Warren . 
Marriages, Some Early 
Marsh, Elwyn R. 
Marsh, Sylvester . 
Marshall, Anderson J. 
Marshall, Antipas P. 
Marshall, Caleb . 
Marshall, Daniel R. 
Marshall, Emma . 
Marshall, Gilbert A. 
Marshall, Joseph C. 
Marshall, Kate M. 
Marshall, Rev. Moody P. 
Marshall, Washington D. 
Marshall, William 
Martin, An Early Hunter 
Martin, George A, 
Martin, James 
Martin, Moses 
Martin Meadovi^ . 
Martin Meadow Pond 
Martin, Rebecca . 
Mason, David G. 
Mason, Hon. David H 
Mason, John 
Mason, Oren 
Masonic Lodge 
40 



234 



335 



68 



337 



i3i> 



374 



261, 



376, 



477. 



485. 



393^ 



244. 



i94> 



486, 



394, 



414, 



406, 



113- 



524, 



504- 



235, 



428, 





547 




190 


492, 


538, 547 




496, 499 




421 


489 


491,492 




• 557 


131, 


193, 209 




537 




• 458 




254-259 




40 




• 314 




• 437 


-130 


, 369-391 




40 




192 




• 557 


192 


436, 541 




594 




189-192 




• 563 




420 


528 


529, 537 




377 




. 82, 87 




490 




• 494 


505 


537, 542 




388, 594 




494 


236 


388, 536 




494, 495 




• 195 




• 316 




337, 378 




• 557 




191 




. 316 




316-317 




. 191 




• 538 




565, 567 


547, 


548, 550 




548, 549 




483-495 



626 



INDEX. 



Matliews, Joseph . 
Mathews, Joseph P. 
Matliews, W. S. . 
McCaffrey, Owen F. 
McCaffrey, Patrick 
McCaffrey, Philip . 
McCaffrey, Timothy 
McCarten, James . 
McCarten, Robert 
McCarten, WilHam H. 
McCarthy, Henry 
McClintock, J. H. 
McCIintock, Wilham R 
McCormic, Martin 
McDonald, Samuel S. 
McGinley, Thomas 
McGoff, Isaac 
McGraw, J. E. 
McHugh, M. 
Mclntire, Charles E. 
Mclntire, Dorothy 
Mclntire, Eben 
Mclntire, Edward 
Mclntire, Edward B, 
Mclntire, Emmons 
Mclntire, Eunice 
Mclntire, Irving 
Mclntire, Jacob 
Mclntire, James 
Mclntire, James E 
Mclntire, Jane 
Mclntire, John 
Mclntire, John, JV 
Mclntire, Laura 
Mclntire, Mary 
Mclntire, Mercy 
Mclntire, Olive 
Mclntire, Sallie 
Mclntire, Samuel 
Mclntire, Sarah 
Mclntire, Silas 
Mclntire, Susan 
Mclntire, Susie 
Mclntire, William 
McKellips, Nellie 
McKoy, William 
McMahon, John , 



328 



, 488 



491 



92 



493 



181 



499 



500, 



191, 



267 

557, 559 
496 

498 
557 
558 



240, 337. 339, 
243, 395, 53°, 531, 
525, 



535, 



539, 542, 557, 



92, 541, 550, 
412, 414, 504, 

194, 338- 383^ 414, 



67, 436, 541 



537 
537 
535 
559 
499 
499 
557 
560 

498 

563 

339 

52s 

594 

92 

92 

92 

541 

92 

92 

505 

553 

551 

505 

92 

553 

92 

92 

92 

92 

190 

92 

593 
192 

541 
92 

497 
92 
502 
436 
559 



INDEX. 



627 



McNally, C. T. . 
McRae, Patrick . 
McRae, Frank 
Meacham, A. B. . 
Melcher, Edward 
Mellen, James 
Memorial Day 
Mercbandise, First Stocks of, 
Merchants, The . 
Mercantile Pursuits, The Vai 
Meeting-house, The Old 
Merriam, Joseph W. 
Merriam, William 
Merrill, Carrie B. 
Merrill, Dudley . 
Merrill, Oliver 
Merrill, Capt. Peter 
Merrill, Seneca S. 
Merry, Charles O. 
Meserve, John H. 
Meseive, John L. 
Meserve, William 
Messer, Frederick G, 
Messer, Lucy 
Metallak (Indian) 
Metcalf, Jonathan 
Methodists, The Early 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 
Miles, Daniel 
Millette, M. J. . 
Military History of the Town 
Millerite Excitement, The 
Mills, Appropriations for 
Mills, "Cloth" . 
Mills, First . 
Mills, Grist and Saw 
Mills, Lands Set Apart for 
Mills, Starch 
Miner, Thomas 
Mitchell, Dr. Ezra 
Mitchell, William 
Moderators . 
Molineaux, W. 
Monahan, Edward M 
Monahan, James . 
Monahan, James A. 
Monahan, James M. 



Brou 



eht to Town 



-113 

444, 



131^ 



194, 



The 



336, 



339- 



394, 



395' 



452, 



334, 



479- 5 



395 
563 
563 
338 
267. 335, 2,2>7 
122 
199 
26, 1 12, 363 

363-369 
129, 363-369 
506-509 

454, 549, 550 
122 

475 
192 
192 
512 
394 
558 
436 
558 

418, 419 
348, 378, 547 
192 

309, 310 

• 558 
179-181 
434-440 

40 

339' 498 

543-563 

452 

42 
334, 371 

• 96-97 
336, 379-384 

• . 2>3> 
387-389 

190 

00, 545, 556 

191, 547 

538-539 

26 

• 498 
530. 537 

245, 498, 537 
498, 525 



628 



INDEX. 



Monahan, John 
Monahan, John G. 
Monahan, M. 
Monahan, Martin A. 
Monahan, Martin J. 
Monahan, Matthew 
Monroe, Polly 
Montgomery, Charles 
Montgomery, L. 
Moody, George 
Moody, Thomas P. 
Moody, William 
Mooney, Capt. James 
Mooney, John 
Moor, Polly 
Moore, Ann 
Moore, Betsey 
Moore, Blanche A. 
Moore, Coffin 
Moore, Comfort 
Moore, Eliza 
Moore, Fanny 
Moore, George W, 
Moore, Harmony 
Moore, Harry 
Moore, Harvey 
Moore, Herberta 
Moore, Jacob B. 
Moore, J. B. 
Moore, John 
Moore, John C. 
Moore, John L. 
Moore, John W 
Moore, Joseph B. 
Moore, L. F. 



Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 
Moore, 



Louisa 

Martha 

Martha P 

Mary 

Mary Jane 

Nancy 

Nathanie 

Peggy 

Sally 

Sarah Ann 

William . 



63, 
394, 



191, 
416, 



242, 



59^ 



93' 
487, 



94- 



43, 337 



338 
67, 325 



9^373 



267 



492, 
122, 



62, 375, 383 

267, 548, 

245, 394, 416, 487, 524, 525, 531, 

122, 
541, 548, 

241, 323, 338, 370, 377- 385, 394- 
399, 444, 487, 489, 490, 495, 



7, 



52, 59, 90, 94, 131, 192, 414, 509, 548 



560 
560 
526 

449 
498 

. 537 
190 
388 
269 
. 391 
. 559 
513 
134 
558 
190 
192 
191 

494 
412 
191 
407 
191 

554 

427 

122 

553 

495 

553 

594 

594 

559 

537 

553 

549 

398 

594 

192 

191 

192 

192 

431 
192 
122 
191 
191 
427 
593 



INDEX. 



629 



Moore, William Weeks 

Morgan, Erasmus B. 

Morgan, George W. 

Morrill, A. W. . 

Morrill, William W. 

Morrison, Rev. J. B. 

Morse, B. C. 

Morse, Charles 

Morse, E. B. 

Morse, E. L. 

Morse, Florence 

Morse, Frederick 

Morse, George H 

Morse, Horace F 

Morse, J. H. 

Morse, J. M. 

Morse, John W. 

Morse, Kimball A 

Morse, Shepard 

Morse. Thomas 

Moultoh, Benjamin F. 

Moulton, Deborah 

Moulton, George V. 

Moulton, Henry H. 

Moulton, James . 

Moulton, John W. 

Moulton, Joseph . 

Moulton, Orville R. 

Moulton, William 

Mount Pleasant 

Mount Prospect . 

Mount Washington 

Mount Willard 

Mountains, Presidential Range of 

Mudge, Ebenezer 

Mudgett, Samuel S. 

Muster Days 

Nash, Samuel 

Nash, Timothy 

Nash, Timothy, Jr. 

Nash and Sawyer's Location 

Nash Stream 

Neel, Hughbastis 

Nesbit, James 

Nevins, James 

Newell, Rev. W. W. 



19 



23> 39 



54 



372, 


513 




437 


499- 


557 


383- 


390 




421 


448, 


521 


504, 


505 




378 




505 




505 




505 




558 




505 


145, 


560 




505 




499 




557 




560 


122 


553 


335. 


373 




559 




191 


338 


496 




558 




557 




557 




267 


557, 


560 




54 


. 12, 92 


12, 92, 


318 




14 




318 


12-13, 14 




122 




444 


200 


-204 




77 


55, ?,i7^ 


318 




380 


22, 60, 


317 




317 




II 




122 




32 




447 



630 



INDEX. 



New Hampshire Gazette 

Newman, John F. 

Newmarsh, Joseph 

Newspapers, The 

Newspapers, The First 

Nickerson, George H. . 

Noisseaux, Rev. Fr. Isadore 

Noonan, P. . . 

Norris, George S. 

Norris, G. W. 

Norris, James 

Northern N'ews, The 

North Side Coaching Parade, 

Norton, G. A. 

Notton, Margaret 

Nourse, Fred H. . 

Nourse, J. B. 

Noyes, Charles C. 

Noyes, Clara I. 

Noyes, F. W. 

Noyes, Gertrude . 

Noyes, Hohnan H. 

Noyes, Ira G. 

Noyes, Rev. James 

Noyes, J. B. 

Noyes, Jennie M. 

Noyes, Lieut. Parlter J. 

Nutter, Charles A 

Nutter, Charles E 

Nutter, Charles F 

Nutter, Ida R. 

Nutter, Jason F. 

Nutter, Joseph L. 

Nutter, Oliver 

Nutter, Samuel O 

Nutting, Harvey 

O'Brion, C. C. 
Ockington, B. B. 
Ockington, John S. 
Odell, Luke 
Odell, William A. 
Odd Fellows, The 
OTlanigan, Michael 
Olcott, Barzillai S. 
Olcott, Dr. Brainerd T. 
Oleson, Herman E. 



H. 



The 



324, 



337 



482, 



483, 



490, 



491 



496, 



23s 



43 
560 

32 
452-460 
132, 452 

557 
328, 336, 450 

• 498 
340 

• 438 

436 

460 

161-162 

492 

192 

491, 492 

496 

542 

. SOI 

492 

494, 497 

497. 525 

504, 505 

336, 438 
492 
505 

499' 500. 556 

• 337 

• 559 

• 557 
. 475 

549' 550 
337 
542 

557 
374 



258, 368, 529, 



395. 492 

233 

490, 495 

560 

421 

336, 495-496 
• 558 

337' 391 

480, 499 

491 



INDEX. 



631 



Olin, C 

Orr, Benjamin 

Orr, Stephen 

Orthodox Congregational Church, 

Osbourne, Adam . 

Osbourne, H. T. . 

Osbourne, William 

Osgood, Abner 

Osgood, Rev. George . 

Otis, Ezra .... 

Otter Brook 



Padelford, Peter 
Padelford, Philip 
Page, Abigail 
Page, Amasa 
Page, Caleb . 
Page, David 



The . 










38, 



4, 5, 6, 8, 18, 19, 2 
39, 42, 54, 57, 59 
195, 198, 291, 313 



Page, David, Jr. 
Page, Elijah 
Page, Fred W. 
Page, Harlan W. 
Page, Harriet 
Page, Jack . 
Page, Joel 
Page, John . 
Page, Maria 
Page, Mary . 
Page, Moses 
Page, Orasmus 
Page, Rachel 
Page, Ruth . 
Page, Samuel 
Page, Susannah 
Page, William 
Paine, S. E. 
Palmer, Charles S 
Palmer, Nelson 
Palmer, O. C. 
Paper Mills, The 
Paris . 

Parker, Charles 
Parker, John L. 
Parker, Levi H. 



6, 19, 22 



437 

59 
122 

421-433 

• °S58 

339 

. 388 

n^ 539' 553 

246, 447 

190 

. 3'8 

• 383 

• 383 
190 

• 554 
180 

o, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 38 

, 71, 75, 85, 86, 89, 97, 100. 112, 194 

325. Z^l>^ 379' 380, 41O' 422, 533, 538 

539, 540, 568, 571 

3, 39, 53, 194, 539, 552, 568, 571 

193 
491, 492 

421 
. - . 192 

190 
131, 181, 193 

• 553 
191 

418, 419, 482 

195' 325. 539' 553 

193 

193 

24' 44. 571 

11^ 86, 553 

21 

40, 513 

395 

528 

• 558 
421 

385-387 
319 

• 558 

• 457 
490, 491, 492, 499, 500, 525, 526, 556 



59-8 



2, 85 



87' 



o, 22 



632 



INDEX. 



Parks, David .... 






340 


Parks, John ........... 340 


Parks, The Public .......... 322-325 


Parsons, Hezekiah B. . . . . . . . . . -535 


Parsons, J. I. ......... . 395, 483 


Party, American ........... 233 


Party, Abolitionist ....... 227, 228-229, 230 


Party, Democratic . . 217, 218, 221, 222, 225, 227, 228, 229, 230, 


231, 23s, 237, 238, 240, 242, 244, 245 




Party, Federalist 






216, 217, 218, 219 


Party, Free Soil .... 






227, 228, 232, 234 


Party, Greenback 






241, 242 


Party, Independent Democrats 






227, 230, 234 


Party, Know-nothing 






232, 233 


Party, Labor Reform 






237 


Party, National Republican . 






220 


Party, Prohibition 






237, 241, 242, 244, 245 


Party, Republican . . 216, 217, 230, 233, 234, 235, 237, 242, 244, 245 


Party, Whig . . . 220, 223, 224, 225, 227, 228, 230, 231, 232, 234 


Parties, Political .......... 211-246 


Pasko, Wesley W. . . . 






458 


Pattee, John C 






395,491,492 


Patterson, Rev. G. W. 






472 


Paul, James ..... 






54 


Payne, Josiah .... 






337 


Peabody, Alice .... 






494 


Peabody, F. D 






. ■ . . .525 


Peabody, Frank .... 






340, 494 


Peabody, Joseph .... 






191 


Peabody, Luella E. . . . 






494, 495 


Pearson, Isaac .... 






• 383 


Pearson, Joseph, Jr. . 






191 


Pearson, Samuel A. . 131, 167, 191 


194, 


256, 


257> 333' 383- 407, 416, 463 


Pearson, William .... 






436 


Peaslee, Sydney H. 






559 


Peavy, George S. . 






505 


Peavy, Ida M. . 






505 


Peavy, J. S. 






414, 459. 460, 504, 505 


Peck, William .... 






436, 437 


Perkins, Adeline .... 






• 435 


Perkins, Apollos .... 






225, 366, 452, 453, 527 


Perkins, Daniel .... 






122,435,553 


Perkins, David .... 






• 397 


Perkins, Elmira .... 






192 


Perkins, F. H 






499' 558 


Perkins, George W. . 


• 131. 


194. 


267, 334, 37I' 539' 546, 548 



INDEX. 



633 



Perkins, James 

Perkins, Jefferson 

Perkins, John 

Perkins, J. R. 

Perkins, Manasah 

Perkins, Paul 

Perkins, Sumner , 

Perkins, W. C. 

Perry, Caroline 

Perry, Rev. Clark 

Perry, Rev. David 

Petition for New County 

Petition on Making of Roads 

Pettingill, Erastus 

Peverly, Joseph 

Peverly, Thomas 

Phelps, C. D. 

Phelps, Eleazer 

Phelps, Lavina 

Phelps, Samuel 

Philbrook, Greenleaf C 

Philbrook, Henry 

Philbrook, Jabez D. 

Philbrook, Samuel 

Philbrook, Walter 

Phillips, Jennie 

Phillips, Martha 

Phillips, Theodore 

Phipps, J. S. 

Physicians, The 

Pierce, Ashvel 

Pierce, Elizabeth S. 

Pike, Col. James 

Pike, W. W. 

Pinkham, Daniel 

Pinkham, Daniel C. 

Pinkham, Mary 

Pixley, Orange 

Plaisted, Charles 

Plaisted, Harris M. 

Plaisted, Leland H 

Plaisted, Samuel . 

Poets of Lancaster 

Political History of the Town 

Pollard, Perry W. 

Poor, Peter . 

Porter, Abel 



336 



337 



398, 



399 



417. 



130. 



T22, 190, 
131. 134, 

558, 
418, 
429, 

• 57 

82, 83, 
82, 



423, 433^ 
131, 192, 436, 



90, 131 
59, 90, 10 1 



420, 



233. 



444, 



235, 2 



523. 5 



476. 
377, 



458, 490, 
418, 



36, 536, 



246- 
21 1- 

24, 527, 



553 
554 
554 
492 
492 

558 
559 
492 
419 

429 

442 

49 
, 59 
437 
215 

193 

459 
181 

423 

483 
548 
191 

547 
373 
191 
502 

427 
122 

492 
-480 

525 
502 

438 
492 
122 

534 
419 
122 
541 
555 
457 
180 

-254 
-246 

528 
82 

375 



634 



INDEX. 



Porter, Edna 

Porter, Emily 

Porter, E. W. 

Porter, Henry H. 

Porter, Horace R. 

Porter, Lewis C. 

Porter, Loring B. 

Porter, Mary 

Porter, R. H. 

Porter, Warren . . . 131, 191, 334 

Porter, W. R. 

Postmasters of the Town 

Post-offices 

Post Riders, Early 

Potash 

Potter, Benoni 

Pound Keepers, The 

Pounds, The Town 

Powers, Capt. Peter 

Powers, James 

Powers, Jonas 

Powers, R. . 

Powers, Thomas 

Pratt, Alfred C. 

Pratt, Levi . 

Praught, P. . 

Preceptors of Lancaster Academy 

Presidential Electors from Lancaster 

Presidents of State Senate from Lancaster 

Prices of Produce at Various Periods 

Prince, W. H. N. 

Prohibition Herald 

Proprietors, First Meetings of 

Protestant Episcopal Church, The 

Prospect Farm 

Prouty, Caleb 

Public Buildings . 

Purington, William 

Purtle, Michael . 

Puryea, John 

Putnam, Mary 

Putnam, Roswell . 

Putnam, William C. 



Quakers in Lancaster 
Ouimby, Ivan W. 
Ouimby, Moses 



338 



401 



335 



453 



375, 



459, 



525, 



392, 



418, 
336, 494, 
336, 
267, 323, 
526, 542, 593, 



523^ 



118, 



128- 



27, 528, 

56, 542- 
254, 

25-126, 



336, 



427 
476 
419 
530 
53° 
366 

594 
494 
394 
593 
374 
-543 
258 
256 

369 
122 
1 1 1 
1 1 1 

2 

554 
542 



• 525 
559 

122, 553 

• 498 
420-421 

531-532 

533 

9' 143. 'hl^ 

490 

459 
39 

85. 451-452 
14 

122 

334 
■hn 
498 
557 
192 

436 
559,340 



452 
490, 491, 493, 530 

n 



INDEX. 



635 



Rafferty, Frank, Jr. 

Railroads 

" Raisings," in Early Times 

Rangers, Rogers . 

Ranlet, Levi F. 

Rathbone, Albert 

Ray, Edward 

Ray, Martin 

Ray, Hon. Ossian 



Readfield, Anthony C. 

Reading Rooms, The . 

Rebekah Lodge, No. 56 

Records, Proprietors, Lost 

Recruiting Officers, during War of 

Reed, Joseph C. . 

Reed, Josiah 

Reed, Mark 

Register of Deeds 

Register of Probate 

Remick, Alfred E. 

Remick, D. R. . 

Renold, Jacob 

Reporter of Supreme Court 

Representatives in General Court 

Reptiles, The 

Revolutionary War, The Period of 

Rhodes, Eldad A. 

Rhodes, Fenner M. 

Rhodes, Freedom M. 

Rhodes, William H. 

Ricard, Truman . 

Rice, Rev. Geo. M. 

Rice, Silas . 

Rich, Spaulding S. 

Richardson, Rev. C. W 

Richardson, Francis 

Richardson, Fred E. 

Richardson, Henry 

Richardson, H. R. 

Richardson, N. H. 

Richardson, Gen. R. M 

Richardson, Will A. 

Richey, Frank E. 

Richey, W. K. . 

Rindge, Isaac 

Rines, P. 



236, 237, 241 
444, 471. 53ii 



Rebellion 



136-137, 141-142, 266 

204- 



527- 



242, 272, 323, 336, 390, 394, 
532, 535' 536, 545, 555> 566, 



521- 
496 



40 



334 



143' 



2,Z7^ 



336, 



371, 



69 



430, 



374, 



536- 
288- 

88, 187, 
558, 
335> 

25, 538, 



443, 445^ 



337, 

499. 
374. 
433, 524- 
204, 



559 

-278 
-206 

, 15 

548 
122 
460' 
122 
395 
594 
122 
-522 

-497 
21 

145 
337 
121 

55» 
535 
534 

505 
496 

558 
533 
-537 
-289 
561 

499 
541 
555 
336 
420 

447 
40 

559 
429 
515 
374 
505 
555 
530 
323 
515 
497 
515 
30 
49& 



62,6 



INDEX. 



Rines, Samuel 
Rines, Webster M. 
Rix, Hon. James M. 

Roads 

Roberts, Burleigh 
Roberts, Emma F. 
Robertson, Mary 
Robertson, Robert H. 
Robinson, Albro L. 
Robinson, George 
Robinson, Increase 
Robinson, Jedediah 
Roby, Abbie L. . 
Roby, Charles W. 
Roby, Clara A. . 
Roby, Ephraim C. 
Roby, John S. 
Roby, Joseph 
Roby, Joseph, Jr. 
Rogers, Abram 
Rogers, Charles E. 
Rogers, Dr. Geo. O. 
Rogers, Isaac L. 
Rogers, John 
Rogers, Robert . 
Root, C. A. 
Rosebrook, A. J. 
Rosebrook, Ariel 
Rosebrook, Charles 
Rosebrook, Eleazer 
Rosebrook, Irena 
Rosebrook, James 
Rosebrook, Jonathan 
Rosebrook, John 
Rosebrook, John, Jr. 
Rosebrook, Lillian 
Rosebrook, Louisa T. 
Rosebrook, Lucius M. 
Rosebrook, Lydia 
Rosebrook, Polly 
Rosebrook, Sarah 
Rosebrook, Uriel 
Rosebrook, William 
Rosebrook House 
Ross, James 
Kound, Hiram J. 



i3i> 335. 336, 355, 375- 383. 389. 
335. 32,(>^ 375. 383. 389. 524, 
226, 229, 231, 232, 234, 368, 

454. 455. 513. 532, 533. 534, 
38, 40, 53-69 

394. 395. 
494. 



233. 



234. 



385. 



444, 



528, 



479. 490. 5 



534. 545. 

557. 



!, 490, 491, 

535. 
267, 



62, 



20, 



4. 5 



59. 
77, 99. 



59> 423. 



90. 397. 
51. 



)35. 



528 
528 
407 
536 
,96 
534 

495 
191 
1 22 

559 
560 

335 
122 

494 
386 
494 
494 
539 
385 
459 
122 

558 
594 
421 
40 
. IS 
525 
340 

131 

333 
553 
190 

553 
190 
540 
59 
497 
505 
528 

423 
190 

423 
540 

537 
333 
559 
559 



INDEX. 



^17 



335 



Rounds, Harrison E. 
Rounds, Samuel . 
Rowe, Elihu T. . 
Rowell, Amos F. 
Rowell, Dr. Charles E 
Rowell, Charles H. 
Rowell, D. E. 
Rowell, Emily 
Rowell, Geo. P. . 
Rowell, James M. 
Rowell, Levi W. 
Rowell, Martha A. 
Rowell, Nellie 
Rowell, Samuel 
Rowell, William 
Rowell, William L. 32 
Rowell, William L., ]x 
Russell, Robinson Y. 
Ryan, Thomas 



Samp 

Sampson, Mary . 

Sampson, Williani 

Sanborn, Abram . 

Sanborn, Edmund 

Sanborn, Rev. Jacob 

Sanborn, John 

Sanborn, Richard 

Sanderson, Henry H. 

Sanderson, Israel 

Sanford, John 

Sargent, John 

Sash, Door, and Blind Factories 

Saunders, Elizabeth 

Saunders, John 

Savage, Ann I. 

Savage, Cyrus 

Savage, Edward . 

Savage, Franklin . 
Savage, Hiram 
Savage, Jason W. 
Savage, John 
Savage, John W. 
Savage, Seth 
Sawyer, Benjamin 
Sawyer, Dies 



339 



487 



490 



233. 



493. 



499' 



525. 



• 558 
267 

420 

339, 459, 460, 497 
458, 479 

• 45S 
340, 488, 491 

521 

14, 401, 459, 521 

336, 535 

457. 458 

493, 494 

• 458 
406 

262, 335, 337 
530. 531. 559. 594 



• 458 
496 

24 

509 

267, 365 

122, 553 

122, 553 

436 

I go 

421 

558 

22, 553 

122 



384- 



493. 494, 
325. 

239, 337. 369, 394, 482, 490, 
492, 493. 494. 537. 539. 563. 

541, 
541, 

338. 388, 406, 

428, 536, 541, 542, 548, 549, 

Z^l, 318, 



549 
-385 
423 
40 
495 
558 
491 

593 
513 
594 
594 
486 
411 
593 
557 

n 



638 



INDEX. 



Sawyer, Dill 
Sawyer, Edmund 
Sawyer, F. A. 
Sawyer, John 
Sawyer, Josiah 
Sawyer, Nancy D. M. 
Sawyer, Robert 
Sawyer's Rock 
Scarlet Fever 
Schools 

School Commissioners 
School Tax List, 1797-1 
Scott, Dr. Nath. H. 
Scott, Nathan W. 
Scott, Rev. Orange 
Scribner, E. W. . 
Sedgell, Charles L. 
Selectmen of Lancaster 
Senators, State 
Senators, U. S. 
Sewers 

Shackford, Robert C. 
Shannon, William H. 
Shattuck, Ephraim 
Shattuck, Silas 
Shattuck, Thomas 
Shaw, F. E. 
Sheafe, John L. . 
Sheperd, Nathaniel 
Sherbon, Catherine 
Sherburne, W. C. 
Sheridan, Thomas C. 
Sheridan, Thomas H. 
Sheriffs, Deputy . 
Sheriffs, High 
Sherman, Walter . 
Sherwood, Charles 
Sherwood, Jason . 
Sherwood, W. C. 
Sherwood, William 
Shirland, George 
Shirley, John 
Shoemakers 
Shores, Peter N. 
Shurtleff", Merrill 
Shurtleflf, Hon. William H. 
Simmons, Stephen 



16: 



. 235 



258 



267, 



46, 



335: 



165, 



371. 



169, 



444, 



402, 



426, 



406, 4 



436, 5 



418 



28, 54 



90, 338 



08, 



39 



62 



59' 



372 



339. 476. 
339. 475, 476, 



82 
419 
121 

40 
483 
445 
550 
318 
264 
416 

535 
46 

336 
436 
547 
395 
340 
-542 
532 

531 

-164 

192 

337 

40 

40 

40 

458 

463 

423 
190 

372 
542 
388 
537 
535 
510 
560 
560 
340 

559 
122 
122 
Z72> 
337 
522 

535 
556 



INDEX. 



639 



Simonds, Arthur 
Simonds, Solon L 
Sims, John F. 
Slade, Mary B. C. 
Sleeper, Alva B. 
Sleeper, Charles 
Sleeper, Ellen M. 
Small, Horatio N. 
Small, Patrick 
Small, Peter 
Small Pox . 
Smith, Allen 
Smith, Carrie M. 
Smith, Charles 
Smith, Charles H 
Smith, Charles W 
Smith, Cyril C. 
Smith, D. G. 
Smith, D. J. 
Smith, Elizabeth . 
Smith, Emmons S 
Smith, Ephraim 
Smith, Ernest E 
Smith, Eudora 
Smith, Fielding 
Smith, Frank 



Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 
Sm 



Frank B. 
George M 
George P. 
Gideon 
Hannah 
Hattie B. 
Hezekiah 
Hezekiah M 
H. VV. 

J- . 
J. A. 
Jacob 
James G. 
Job . 
John 
John H. 
John M. 
John W. 
Jonathan 
Joseph 



204 



267 



335 



378, 



394 



499. 

247, 566, 
505. 
390. 



244, 

260- 

436, 437. 486, 553, 
494. 
337. 

458,486, 529, 530, 
62, 335, 

337. 
338. 



402, 491,497, 530, 531, 534, 541, 
242, 243, 245, 276, 335, 337, 338, 339, 383, 385, 
390, 401, 444, 525, 526, 529, 530, 537, 542, 555, 



435. 



456. 



234 



,258 



. 336 



367, 



375 



389. 



454. 



494. 



458, 489. 5 



28, 



436, 437. 
337, 340, 



421, 
490, 491, 



497 
552 
560 
592 
556 
496 

505 
555 
537 
340 
-261 

593 
501 

439 
438 
535 
559 
337 
438 
427 

439 
337 

490 

494 
543 
386 

593 
337 
594 
458 

131 
192 

495 
192 

547 
496 

498 
542 
512 

436 
122 

541 
491 

550 
559 
458 
492 



640 



INDEX. 



Smith, Josiah 






131.372 


Smith, Mary 






335 


Smith, Matthew . 






244, 537 


Smith, M. D. L. F. . 






550 


Smith, Nathaniel 






. ■ . . . . 40 


Smith, Orange 






335. 373 


Smith, Sally 






190 


Smith, Vernon E. 






335. 337. 338 


Smith, William . 






.121 


Smith, William F. 






236, 536, 541, 594 


Smith, William H. 






156, 232, 418, 419, 533 


Smugglers, in Early Times 






120 


Snell, Alfred Titus 






555 


Social Life, in Early Times 






130, 132-134 


Soldiers of Laricaster . 






543-563 


Somers, Rev. A. N. 






339, 416, 440, 448 


Southworth, Luther 






122 


Sparks, Nelson 






258,371,488.491,594 


Spaulding, Daniel 






. 82, 93, 262 


Spaulding, Douglas 






411, 564, 593 


Spaulding, Edward 






59, 93, 191, 194, 236, 290, 313, 401 






414, 


420, 427, 444, 536, 541, 542, 574, 594 


Spaulding, Edward B. . 






540 


Spaulding, Edward C. . 






94. 393. 444 


Spaulding, Edward, Jr. 






236 


Spaulding, Edward, Sr. 






93-94 


Spaulding, Eliza M. 






. . . .495 


Spaulding, Eliza Turner 






470 


Spaulding, Eliza W. 






94. 192 


Spaulding, Fred B. 






298, 421, 525 


Spaulding, Horace 






594 


Spaulding, James . 






550 


Spaulding, James B. 






94, 444 


Spaulding, John Hubbard 






94, 137, 228, 374, 414, 418, 419, 444 


Spaulding, John W. 






. 94, 192, 238, 239, 258, 366 
367,385,386, 537,542, 594 


Spaulding, Justin . 






437 


Spaulding, Kate . 






497 


Spaulding, Martha B. 






94 


Spaulding, N. S. . 






436 


Spaulding, Russell H. . 






436, 437 


Spaulding, Samuel F. 






235, 436, 444 


Spaulding, Sarah A. 






445 


Spaulding, William C. . 






401, 593 


Spaulding, William D. . 




• 94 


, 192, 234, 267, 269, 444, 445, 447, 541 


Spencer, Elihu 






122 


Sperry, Jacob 






122 



INDEX, 



641 



Spiritualism in Lancaster 
Spofford, Rev. Luke A. 
Spooner, Dr. Frank 
Spooner, Lucy 
Springer, Eunice . 
Springer, John 
Springer, Jonathan 
Springer, Nancy . 
Springer, Samuel, Jr. 
Stackpole, Samuel 
Stalbird, George H. 
Stalbird, "Granny" 
Stalbird, Harriet E. 
Stalbird, John 
Stalbird, Loren E. 
Stalbird, Leroy S. 
Stalbird, Sally B. . 
Stalbird, VV. H. H. 
Stanley, Benjamin 
Stanley, Betsey 
Stanley, Cynthia . 
Stanley, Lieut. Dennis 

Stanley, James B. 
Stanley, Sarah 
Stanley, William . 
Staples, Joseph 
Starch Mills 
Stark, Gen. John . 
Stark, William 
State Commissioners 
State Senators 
Stearns, Ephraim . 
Stebbins, Amanda 
Stebbins, Charles D. 
Stebbins, Chester . 
Stebbins, Daniel . 
Stebbins, Electa . 
Stebbins, J. A. 
Stebbins, Levi 
Stebbins, Louisa . 
Stebbins, Sophronia 
Steele, Edward A. 
Stephens, Benjamin C. 
Stephens, Joshua . 
Stephenson, Bryant O. 
Stephenson, Lieut. Benj 



333 



339. 



479 



488, 



139- 



490, 491, 492, 494, 
494, 



131. 



92, 194 
191 



57, 59, 62, 83, 87, 96, 193, 197, 
312,325, 372,422,434, 540,552, 

122, 



131 , 262, 



387- 
I1 2, 17, 



94, 444, 
192, 413, 427, 



2^8, 



129, 194, 
121, 131, 192, 392, 
527, 528, 537, 540, 553, 



140 
426 
495 
495 
193 
190 
190 
190 
180 
122 
505 
477 
445 
427 

558 
538 
427 

559 

548 
508 
407 
262 
553 
553 
423 
548 
560 
-389 

I 

534 
532 
40 
427 
593 
335 
593 
192 

337 
181 
427 
192 

543 
192 
122 
538 

523 
569 



642 



INDEX. 



Stephenson, Briant 
Stephenson, Uebby 
Stephenson, Eliza 
Stephenson, John G. 
Stephenson, Lucitanus 
Stephenson, Oliver G. 
Stephenson, Reuben 



Stephenson, Richard 
Stephenson, Hon. Turner 

Stevens, Benjamin C. 
Stevens, CO. 
Stevens, Enos 
Stevens, George E. 
Stevens, George iVl. 
Stevens, Lieut. James 
Stevens, James O. 
Stevens, J. H. 
Stevens, John W. 
Stevens, Capt. Phineas 
Stevens, Reuben . 
Stewart, Charles J . 
Stewart, E. R. 
Stickney, David 
Stickney, G. M. . 
Stickney, Jacob 
Stickney, Dr. Jacob E. 
Stickney, Nathaniel G. 
Stickney, Mary S. H. 
Stiles, Betsey 
Stillings, Alonzo . 
Stillings, Lyman . 
Stinson, David 
Stocking, Dr. 
Stockwell, Betsey 
Stockwell, Charlotte 
Stockwell, David . 
Stockwell, Dolly . 
Stockwell, E. D. . 
Stockwell, Dr. E. F. 
Stockwell, Lieut. Emmons 



Stockwell, Emmons, 2d 



536 



131 
509. 



385 



413 



267, 406, 407, 



418, 



418, 419, 504, 537, 

131, 167, 191 , 260, 267, 

370, 383, 416, 528, 534, 537, 

234, 267, 334, 33S' 3S5' 392, 
523, 527, 528, 534, 539, 545, 



477, 



479. 



339, 



394, 



486, 



402, 
395' 535, 



7, 



92, I 



536, 547, 593 



94 



28, 
59, 436, 



539 
192 

509 
419 

267 
538 
334 
540 
406 
464 

593 
209 
492 
219 . 

497 
538 

339 
437 
556- 

3 

122 
463 
340 
436 
339 
131 
550- 

337 
427 
191 

337 

457 

I 

480 

28 

189 

571 



593 
339, 416, 479, 49S 
5, 6, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 34 
38, 39, 42, 44, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 62, 77, 82 
84, 85, 99, 107, 113, 131, 177, 181, 193 
195, 209, 272, 282, 325, 329, 358, 381, 3S2 
410, 421, 422, 538, 539, 540, 552, 568, 571 
28, 383, 564, 571, 593. 



INDEX. 



643 



Stockwell, Ephraim 
Stockwell, George S. 
Stockwell House, The 
Stockwell, John 
Stockwell, Liberty- 
Stock well, Mary . 
Stockwell, Phebe . 
Stockwell, Polly . 
Stockwell, Ruth . 
Stockwell, Ruth Page 
Stockwell, Sally . 
Stockwell, Samuel 
Stockwell, William 
Stockwell, William R. 
Stodard, David 
Stone, Abner 
Stone, Charles F. 
Stone, Frederick M. 
Stone, George F. . 
Stone, Hosea 
Stone, James 
Stone, Reuben 
Stonington, Conflicts with the Town of 
Stores . 
Stowell, Joseph 
Stowell, M. E. 
Stratton, A. E. 
Stratton, Daniel . 
Straw, John 
Streeter, Fred W. 
Streeter, Joseph . 
Streets 

Streets, Lighting of 
Stuart, Bernice 
Stuart, Charles J. 
Stuart, Edward 
Stuart, Helen A. . 
Sules, Oliver 
Sullivan, Rev. D. Alex 
Sullivan, Edmund 
Sullivan, Thomas 
Summers, Lewis P. 
Sumner, Rev. Charles E 
Sumner, J. B. 
Sutton, G. . 
Sutton, John G. . 
Swain, John C. 



233 



28, 131, 191, 383, 564, 571, 593 
239, 240, 420, 505, 537, 538, 594 

332 
28, 131, 436, 571 
28, 383 
28 
28 
. 27, 28, 189 
28, 165, 193 
402, 423, 572 
. 27, 92, 189 
28 
28, 418, 419 
234, 245, 398, 537, 541, 542, 593 



333, 335. 33^ 
I 



34, 



320 
151, 15^ 

131, 

494, 



339, 476, 
340, 



336, 



191 

554 
181 

550 

558 

427 

40 

28 

338 

40 

505 
378 
122 

131 

525 
497 
-322 
-159 
337 
545 
337 
495 
558 
450 
498 
525 
559 
432 
393 
499 
557 
122 



644 



INDEX. 



Swan, Polly 
Sweeney, Barnard 
Sweeney, Edward 
Sweet, Hartford . 
Sweet, John 
:Sweetser, A. H. . 
-Sweetser, Emma H. 
Svveetser, Thomas 

Tailors 

Tanners 

Taverns 

Chessman 

White's 

Wilson 
Taxes 

Taylor, B. A. 
Taylor, David 
Taylor, Holloway 
Taylor, James 
Taylor, Rachel 
Taylor, Submit 
Telegraph, The 
Telephone, The 
Temperance House, Th 
Temperance Organizatii 
Tenney, Hon. A. W. 
Tenry, George 
Thatcher, Rev. R. P. E. 
Thayer, C. H. . 
Thayer, Thomas S. 
Thomas, Frank Foster 
Thomas, Fred 
Thomas, Lucien F. 
Thomas, Martha 
Thompson, Abner 
Thompson, Alexander 
Thompson, Charles 
Thompson, Daniel 
Thompson, Joseph 
Thompson, Joseph M. 
Thompson, Rev. Lathrop 
Thompson, Mabel C. . 
Thompson Manufacturing Company 
Thompson, Martha J. 
Thompson, W. A. 
Thompson, Dr. W. H 



43 



337 



191 

325 

• 558 
2>7l^^ 385. 529 

• 554 
499 
501 

499, 300, 543, 556 



334. 
333' 335. 514. 



,46. 



389. 



103- 



104, 



557 
191 
190 
150 
150 
516 

207-211, 502, 503, 504 
421 
558 
447 
492 

556 
458 
497 
558 
191 

494 
490 

• 338 
389, 490, 529 

557 
444 
421 

494 
389-391 
493 
505 
0, 489, 495, 496, 499 



05 



371 
372 
515 
515 
515 
514 
-1 10 

395 
554 



490. 493. 
390, 391, 489, 



INDEX. 



645 



Thornton, Matthew 
Tillotson, John M. 
Tilton, Rev. Geo. H. 
Timberlake, D. T. 
Tirrell, Phillip S. 
Tithingmen 
Tobacco Culture . 
Tolford, John 
Tolford, Lieut. Joshua 
Tolford's Survey . 
Tomson, Rev. Lathrop 
Toscan, John 
Tovvne, Barton G. 
Town Clerks 
Town, Dr. Francis L. 
Town Lots 
Transition Period, A 
Tread well, Jacob 
Truland, Daniel . 
Truland, James . 
Truland, James W. 
Trussell, Jacob 
Tubbs, George 
Tubbs, Orrin 
Turner, Deborah . 
Turnpikes 
Tuttle, N. . 
Twitchell, Abiathar 
Twitchell, A. S. . 
Twitchell, F. H. . 
Twitchell, Frank . 
Twitchell, Hiram . 
Twitchell, O. M. . 
Twitchell, Zeb 
Twombley, Benjamin, J 
Twombley, Ebenezer 
Twombley, Elijah D. 
Twombley, Ella M. 
Twombley, James 
Twombley, Joseph 
Twombley, Rebekah 
Twombly, Alvah . 
Twombly, Dorcas 
Twombly, Eliza . 
Twombly, Jonathan 
Typhoid Fever, Epidemics of 







32 




371, 


387, 485 


. 283, 


339. 


421, 433 




421 


500, 556 

• 492 

SI 
. 318 
. 29, 32 

• 29, 30 

29 
. 176 


I 12, 


209, 


364, 406 


478, 535. 


541, 


542, 594 
539 




479 


535. 555 
. 29, 36 
1 14-140 
32, 195 

• 542 
. 498 

245. 537 
122 

336 
336, 368 

• 193 

I lO-III 

496 
388 
492 

390 
■ 337 

• 541 
233 


388, 499, 


559. 


560, 594 

540 

540, 553 




513. 


541, 548 

• 338 
191 
190 
191 
436 
192 
. 192 
63, 194 
263 



646 



INDEX. 



Underwood, George B. 
Underwood, T. S. 
Union School District 
Unitarianism 
Unitarian Church, The 
Utley, Daniel 
Uphani, Benjamin 



Valentine, Richard H. C. 

Valuation of Town, The First 

Valuation of Town, The Last 

Van Dyke, George 

Van Dyke, Hon. Thomas H 

Van Ness, S. W. 

Vanschork, Samuel 

Veazie, William H. 

Vermont Controversy, The 

Veteran Firemen's Association, Th 

Village, The 

Wade, Harvey 

Wagon Makers and Wheelwrights 

Wakefield, John H. 

Wakefield, Thomas L 

Waldron, John 

Wales, Nathaniel . 

Wales, Seth 

Walker, Caleb 

Walker, Franklin . 

Walker, Hazen C. 

Walker, Lyman . 

Wallace, Orrace . 

War of 1812, Enlisted Men 

War, The Mexican 

War of the Rebellion 

War of the Revolution 

Wark, Dr. A. W. 

Ward, Artemas 

Ward, William 

Warner, Daniel 

Warren, George 

Warren, Louis 

Warren, Simon 

Warren, William 

Washburn, F. P. 

Washburn. Josiah 

Water Supply and System of Works 



488, 489, 491, 497 
335' 337' 338, 37^^ 390 
414 
184-185 

430-440, 444 

122 

554 



376, 383 



104 

395' 

245. 



186-189, 
526 
I, 10, 123, 126-127, '5°- 



458 
-105 
161 
402 
277 
340 

12 2 

558 
562 
-527 
-151 



554 
376-377 
420 
420 
190 

• 483 
72 

547 

■ 558 

385, 528 

420 

537 
121 , 329 

135 
145-149 

69-87 
480 

351. 456 
560 
32 
122 
560 
122 

593 
492 

122 

156-158 









INDEX. 












C47 


Waters, Edmund M. 




















• 457 


Watson, G. H. . 




















594 


Way, N. 0. 




















437 


Way, Spofford A. 




















. 218 


Weare, Meshech . 




















32 


Webb, Azariah 




















190, 483 


Webb, Henry S. . 














401, 


505. 


525. 


542, 594 


Webster, George W. 




















594 


Weed, David 




















192 


Weed, Joseph 




















122 


Weeks, Deborah . 




















423 


Weeks, Eliza 




















190 


Weeks, James B. 














191. 


314. 


412. 


444. 508 


Weeks, Judge James W 




35. 


137. 


234, 


240, 


269, 


288, 


289, 


315. 


316, 323 






326 


. 340 


377. 


388, 


393. 


394. 


401, 


407. 


412, 413 






420 


, 434 


444. 


445. 


509. 


528, 


534. 
549. 


535. 
550, 


538, 541 
551. 593 


Weeks, John . 59 


62, 


90, 9 


I. 99 


100, 


114, 


137, 


177. 


193. 


197. 


198, 203 


IT- 


2. 403 


, 414 


, 422 


483. 


533. 


538, 


540, 


550. 


551. 


552, 553 


AVeeks, Major John W. 


94, 


121, 


131. 


138, 


165, 


167, ] 


91. 


192, 


221, 


222, 224, 


22t: 


5, 22g 


, 260 


, 262 


283, 


291, 


312, 


358, 


383. 


403. 


416, 454 


50 


5. 513 


. 531 


. 532 


534, 


535. 


538, 


540, 


553. 


562, 


569, 578 


Weeks, J. W., Jr. 




















401 


Weeks, Rev. Joshua W 


ngate 


















32 


Weeks, Martha 




















94. 193 


Weeks, Mary W. 




















191 


Weeks, M. Eliza . 




















• 445 


Weeks, Persis F. 




















427, 445 


Weeks, Hon. WilHam E 


). 








228, 


323. 
534. 


327. 
536, 


388, 
541, 


400, 
548, 


40 1 , 444 
549. 594 


Weeks House 




















333 


Wellington, Dr. S. B. 




















480 


WelHngton, Samuel L. 




















500 


Wells, E. . 




















436, 437 


Wells, Col. John S. 








225, 


226, 


227. 


234, 


235. 


267, 


454. 465 










» 


527, 


528, 


533. 


535. 


536, 


545. 549 


Went worth. Benjamin 




















191, 436 


Wentworth, Gov. Benni 


ng 








I, 


7.8, 


18, 


19, 22, 29, 34, 186 


Wentworth, Francis H. 




















594 


Wentworth, Fred A. 
















. - 




325. 557 


Wentworth, Gov. John 


















: 


-9. 30. 31 


Wentworth, Joseph 




















436 


Wentworth, Samuel 




















194, 372 


Wentworth, Samuel S. 




















• 553 


Wentworth, Shackford 




















192, 436 


Wentworth, Tamson 




















191 


Wentworth, Thomas 




















559 



648 



INDEX. 



Wentworth, William G. 














515 


Wesson, Abel H. 














335. 559 


Wesson, Asa 














67, 194, 267 


West, Presbury . 














258, 429 


West, Presbury, Jr. 














269 


Weston, Rev. Isaac 














430. 443 


Wheeler, George 














19, 22, 38, 539 


Wheeler, Jere 














122 


Wheelock, Rev. Haskell 














436, 547 


Wheelock, Rev. James R. 














425, 441, 547 


Wheelock, Rev. John . 














108 


Wheelwright, Nathaniel 














39 


Whidden, Ann L. 














407, 427 


Whidden, Judge Benjamin F. 




. 230, 233, 234, 236, 262, 327, 336, 385 


393. 398. 399. 409. 420, 444. 458, 469 


532, 534. 535. 536, 538 


Whidden, Eliza D. ......... . 445 


Whidden, Mary N. 












. 427 


Whidden, Samuel L. 












411,427 


Whipp, CO. 












492 


Whipp, Lauren B. 












155. 339. 492, 576 


Whipple, Albert F. 












145. 564 


Whipple, Barney B. 












122 


Whipple, Belle ' . 












340 


Whipple, John M. 






137. 


233. 234, 339. 444. 534. 536, 550 


Whipple, Col. Joseph . 








48, 60, 75, 84, 96, 546, 561 


Whitcomb, A. K. 








421 


Whitcomb, Maj. Benjamin 














189 


Whitcomb, Catherine J. 














• 427 


Whitcomb, Elmer 














496 


Whitcomb, Grace 














494. 495 


Whitcomb, Henry J. 












549, 550, 593. 594 


Whitcomb, Horace 131, 23^ 


U 267 


. 335 


. 337 


378, 


427. 


430, 541, 549, 551, 593 


Whitcomb, Horace F. . 












531, 593 


Whitcomb, R. Baxter . 














337. 552 


White, Allen 














122 


White, David 














191 


White, Ellen A. . 














247, 445 


White, Ellen C. . 














445 


White, Dr. Samuel 














476 


W/iite Mount ai7i ^'Egis, The . 












225, : 


226, 366, 368, 453 


White, Eunice (Aunt) . 














261 


White, F. . . . 














• 335 


White, Henry 














192 


White, Horace A. 














• 555 


White, James H. 














323 


White, Jeremiah . 














122 







INDEX. 649 


White, John E 323 


White, Hon. John H. . 131, 227, 228, 230, 233, 234, 247, 267, 275, 358, 392 


444, 454, 531, 532, 533, 535, 538, 540, 541, 546, 593 


White, Moses ......... 131, 552, 568 


White, Moses H. 






420 


White, Nathaniel . 






• 63, i93> 511. 540, 553 


White, Nicholas . 






193 


White, Noah 






191 


White, Polly 






190 


White, Samuel 


131 


191, 


209, 323, 364, 370, 376, 515, 540, 548 


White, Sarah 






427 


White, William A. 






235. 39S, 399. 410, 444, 445, 541, 550 


White Mountain Notch 






22, 48, 55, 60, 318 


Whitney, James . 






122 


Whitney, Silas 






121 


Wiiitney, Timothy 






40 


Whitney, V. V. . 






339' 391. 492, 524, 531 


Whiton, Thomas . 






122 


Whittemore, Ji)hn Colebrook 






398, 399 


Whittemore, J. R. 






226, 454, 455, 551 


Whittier, Henry C. 






563 


Wiggin, Andrew . 






32 


Wight, Aaion 






558 


Wilcox, Lieut. Jeremiah 






177. 319. 422, 540 


Wilder, Artemas . 






397, 483, 510, 511 


Wilder, Artemas, Jr. 






190, 193, 2og 


Wilder, Edmund C. 






427 


Wilder, Edward B. 






325.559 


Wilder, Elisha . 






51, 52, 59, 90, 193, 423 


Wilder, Elizabeth 






193. 423 


Wilder, Ephraim . 






427 


Wilder, Eunice 






190 


Wilder, Oilman . 






427. 433. 593 


Wilder, James 






< 87 


Wilder, John 






194. 427 


Wilder, Maj. Jonas 34, 44, 56, 59, 62, 82, 83, 84, 95, 99, 107, 167, 177. 193 


195, 209, 325, 329, 381, 421, 422, 423, 514, 538, 539, 540, 570 


Wilder, Jonas, Jr. ......... 48, 422 


Wilder, Joseph 






59, 90, 99, 423, 433, 540 


Wilder, Joseph H. 






..... 559 


Wilder, Lucy 






190 


Wilder, Manassah 






190, 194 


Wilder, Mehitabel 






193.423.427 


Wilder, Orange . 






413 


Wilder, Persis 






95, 189, 462 


Wilder, Polly 






423 


Wilder, Rhoda . 






427 



650 



INDEX. 



wiiKins, 


<„aivin u. 






















557 


Wilkins, 


Elijah R. 






















43S 


Wilkins 


Jotham . 






















122 


Wilkins, 


WiUiam . 






















557 


Wilkins 


William H. . 






















558 


Wilkinson, John . 






















122 


Willard, 


Calvin 






















513 


Willard, 


Jonathan 
















3f 


319 


553 


Willard, 


Jonathan W. . 














c 


13, 


546, 


548 


Willard, 


John 




















192 


Willard, 


John Dwight . 




















407 


Willard, 


John H. 






■ \ 












, 


537 


Willard, 


Parson Joseph 






21,35 


, 44, 


131, 


178, 


'79 


193 


345 












422, 


423, 


425, 440 


553 


572 


Willard, 


Levi 






63, 67, 


190, 


383, 


396, 397, 


535 


540 


Willard, 


Levi, Jr. 


















376 


Willard, 


Martha . 






















191 


Willard, 


Sophronia 






















192 


Willard' 


5 Basin 






















318 


Willey, Danforth . 






















489 


Willey, George 






















335 


Willey, 


3. R. . 






















335 


Williams 


, Charles 






















557 


William* 


, F. W. . 






















458 


Williams 


, George 






















560 


Williams 


, Col. George C. 






234. 235, 


335, 


336,. 


593, 4 


^7I, 


489, 


493 










515, 528, 


533, 


534, 


535, ! 


36, 


538, 


545 


Williams 


, Henry . 


















335 


Williams 


, Capt. Jared L 




146, 


241, 276, 


324, 


328,. 


535. 2 


39. 


383, 


385 








389, 


393. 394, 


418, 


419, - 


120, 4 


50. 


454, 


473 








489, 


490, 492. 


493, 


495, ^ 


^99, 5 


GO, 


512, 


521 








424, 


529. 537. 


550. 


551, . 


556, 5 


64, 


587. 


593 


Williams 


, Gov. Jared W. 


131 


, 167, 


222, 223, 


224, 


226, 


229, : 


67, 


320, 


335 






359 


,383 


393. 416, 


444, 


454, - 


04, A 


^92, 


509, 


512 






531 


. 532 


533. 534. 


535. 


536, 


538, 5 


44, 


545, 


593 


Williams 


House, The . 


















516 


Williams 


, John M. 


















122 


Williams 


, Mary H. 


















502 


Williams 


, Sarah J. 


















521 


Williams 


, Rev. Stephen 


















316 


Williams 


, Sylvester P. . 
















436, 


437 


Williard, 


John W. 


















377 


Willoughby, C. E. 


















496 


Willow Tree, The Old, Illust) 


ation 


of an 


i Poem on 












248 


Wilson, 


Absalom 


















122 


Wilson, 


Addle E. 
















494, 


502 


Wilson, 


Arthur G. 














3 


39. 


3 


91, 


499 









INDEX. 














&51 


Wilson, Benjamin 




















. 


121 


Wilson, Caleb 






















193 


Wilson, Charles . 






















56a 


Wilson, Edward . 






















504 


Wilson, Elvira 






















192 


Wilson. Erdix T. 




















248, 


337 


Wilson, Frances B. 






















I92 


Wilson, Dr. Francis 


lOI, 


131 


, 176 


190, 


191. 


193. 


209, 


267. 


333' 


476, 


564 


Wilson, George . 






















453 


Wilson, George C. 






















56a 


Wilson, Hubbard 






















464 


Wilson, Gen. John 




122 


, 131 


193, 


203, 


209, 


220, 


260, 


267, 


341, 


345 






366 


, 370 


392, 


393> 


427, 


429, 


452, 


492, 


512, 


514 












523. 


527. 


528, 


536, 


545. 


546, 


553 


Wilson, John M. . 




















491 


492 


Wilson, John, 3d 






















547 


Wilson, Mary 




















192 


193 


Wilson, Nathaniel 




















167, 


420 


Wilson, Nicholas B. 




















335. 


384 


Wilson, Polly 






















193 


Wilson, Solomon 




















40, 


558 


Wilson, Stephen . { 


?9, 92, 


112 


. 131 


193. 


194, 


209, 


215, 


256, 


330. 


334. 


364 




397 


406 


,484 


. 485 


492, 


514, 


538 


540 


546 


547 


562 


Wilson, Stephen, Jr. 






















542 


Wilson, W. B. . 






















525 


Winch, Joseph 






















401 


Winchester, C. M. 






















594 


Witherell, James . 






















122 


Windus, Jacob 






















371 


Wolcott, George S. 






















337 


Wolcott, Joseph G. 






















558 


Wolcott, Rev. R. T. 






















440 


Wolcott, William 






















515 


Wood, Isaac 






















4<> 


Woodbury, Dr. Mark R 


















336, 


478, 


545 


Woods, Andrew . 






















122 


Woods, George A. 






















496 


Woodward, Alice 






















494 


Woodward, Edward 






















112 


Woodward, Edward A. 


















491. 


496, 


505 


Woodward, Erastus 






















547 


Woodward, Ira E. 




















499. 


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Woodward, Jason H. 














319. 


385, 


386, 


394. 


401 


Woodward, J. S. 




















504. 


505 


Woodward, Moses 




















388, 


393 


Woodward, Nellie A. 






















505 


Woodward, William 






















201 



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Woodward. Wuliam H. - . 




4S5 


Woo"-5os. Sabin C. . . . 




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Wo— ar/> ChrL'^rian Temperance U-'c". The . 




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Wonra-'s Relief Coras, The 




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Worcicster. Thossas ..... 




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WcrthlT. Dr. Oscar 




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WrUi:^ Si=cel . 




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Wrrnaa. £. W. 


340. 


499. 556 


WT-sn. Mav M 




501 


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Yoang. Cal^ ...... 




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Yoannjr, Rev. C. -\. 




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Yooi^. David 


355" 


537- 559 


Yaang, Capt. Hairisoii De J 


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Yom^, Gen. Ira . 


464. 538. 


545- 546 


Yoong. Mary 




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Yoang. Richard Cms ... 




465. 557 






464 


Yoonj. Gen. J .A. 




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